Board panel to recommend fate for the old Harding High

The committee should have a recommendation in about a month.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — The board of education has decided to quickly assemble a committee to determine what should be done with the old Warren G. Harding High School to make way for the new high school opening in the fall.

Board president Robert Faulkner said the committee will be formed in about a week and make a recommendation to the board in about a month.

The decision to establish the group came after the board voted 3-2 during a special meeting Tuesday not to rescind a 2005 board resolution to preserve the old building when the new facility adjacent to Harding opens in the fall.

The type of members who will serve on the committee will be determined after Faulkner talks with individual board members, he added.

In 2003, voters approved a 6.984-mill bond issue to construct new schools, including a high school, and a $1 million bond issue to preserve historic elements of Harding.

Faulkner said, however, it will take from $3 million to $6 million to keep the old building open, including the auditorium.

Also, the old building’s wings and auditorium must be demolished to make way for parking and access roads to service the new school before it opens.

Faulkner said it would be a “disaster” if the new building was ready for students but couldn’t open because of the lack of access.

Creation of the committee was urged by board members Patricia Limperos and Edward Bolino after hearing from a number of people, most of them Harding graduates, who spoke against abandoning preservation of at least the facade.

“Once the facade is gone, it will be gone to future generations,” Limperos said.

Bolino agreed with Limperos, but noted the committee must move quickly because the access roads are needed for the new structure.

Board members Belino, Limperos and Shari Harrell voted to keep the idea of preservation alive while Faulkner and Kevin Stringer voted against it.

Stringer, a graduate of the former Western Reserve High School, said there was no effort to preserve that school when it was closed.

He said the past can exist in the “hearts and minds” of the community.

Joe Carney of Ashtabula County, a Harding graduate, said at least part of Harding should be retained.

“It’s very sad to see that building go,” he told the board.

Another alum, Barbara Busco, said voters approved the $1 million for preservation “and now you’re turning your backs on us.”

Another graduate, John Bennett, urged the board to keep within the $1 million budget and not spend more money for preservation.

Daryl Parker, also a graduate, said a hall of fame for memorabilia should be constructed in the new building to maintain a historical perspective.

Martha Ellers, former president of the Trumbull County Historical Society, also commented that voters approved the money for preservation.

“This whole thing has gone way too fast,” she said of the board’s making a decision on whether to preserve Harding.

yovich@vindy.com