Tear down school, grads say

The project is estimated at $170 million.
& lt;a href=mailto:dick@vindy.com & gt;By DENISE DICK & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A three-generation Warren G. Harding High School family looks forward to a fresh start.
Anna Halkias, her daughter, Eleni, and mother, Peggy Kontos, all Harding graduates, want a new high school.
"I want it torn down," said Halkias, a 1975 graduate, who also served in the key communicator group that provided input into the school district's building project.
But she also recognizes the historic value of the old building.
"Maybe they could try to save part of it, like the pillars in front or the fa & ccedil;ade, but if it's exorbitant in price, it's preferable for them to spend it on other things," Halkias said.
"I think the money should be spent on the kids."
The school district was tapped last month to receive Ohio Schools Facilities Commission funding. The plan is to demolish buildings and construct five kindergarten-through-eighth-grade buildings and a high school.
The cost is estimated at $170 million, 81 percent of it paid by the state. A local bond issue is required to raise the remaining local share.
Interest in preservation
Some school board members have expressed interest in retaining at least a portion of Harding, built in 1924, for historic preservation, but preservation isn't covered by OSFC funds so that portion of the cost would have to be paid with local money.
Estimates from architects consulting on the project ranged from about $900,000 to more than $6 million. A decision is expected next month.
"I think we should tear it down," said Kontos, a 1943 Harding graduate. "It was old when I went to school. It would be great for the children to have a new school."
Eleni, a 2003 graduate, agrees. "The school is falling apart," she said.
Just another hole in the wall
The honors graduate who played on the school's tennis team relayed a story from her history class:
Her teacher tried to move a filing cabinet to cover a hole in the classroom wall, but moving the cabinet revealed another hole.
"He said he'd have to bring in another filing cabinet," Eleni said.
Feelings of envy would come over Eleni when she traveled with the tennis team to other schools to compete and saw their facilities.
Eleni plans to major in education at Mount Union College in Alliance next year and hopes a new city high school includes air conditioning.
Still, she loved her school and teachers.
"The academics are excellent," her mother said, adding that offerings like the International Baccalaureate program make Harding the best school in the area, despite some people's misconceptions about it.
Halkias hopes the new schools include state-of-the-art computer facilities to provide students with the computer skills and knowledge required in the job market.
denise. & lt;a href=mailto:dick@vindy.com & gt;dick@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;