Editorials Archive

Renovating RHS building a good idea
, Publisher
03-09-2010

In tough times, responsible leaders have to make responsible decisions, even if it means calling on others to sacrifice — and that is exactly what Lincoln Parish Schools Superintendent Danny Bell is calling on the district to do.

Officials with the school system originally wanted to use almost $5 million in reserve funds to construct a new building adjacent to Ruston High School to house the New Tech program. In such a program, students would utilize technology, such as ipods, Web casts and other digital tools, to conduct research for science, fine arts and other subjects. Additionally, the students’ grades would not be primarily based on exams, but on the team projects they create in the class. If RHS implements a New Tech High, it could be the first in north Louisiana.

Architect Mike Walpole had proposed a building that would have included at least eight large and four standard classrooms inclusive of student restrooms, an office area and a commons area for the program. Unfortunately, in this economy, spending $5 million (in reserve funds for capital improvement projects) may not be in the best interests of the school system or the taxpayers of Lincoln Parish — especially when there are less expensive means available to accomplish your goal.

As a cost-cutting alternative to their original plan, Bell instead wants to use existing space already at the school. Ruston High has 7,000 square feet of existing space on the south side of the building, directly underneath the school’s band room for New Tech.

Such a project would only require $750,000 in renovations, according to Bell.

Bell emphasized, however, that his suggestion was just that — a suggestion.

This suggestion makes more financial sense than the first proposal — that’s because the district only has $3.3 million in reserve for capital improvement projects.

By launching this innovative program first on a small-scale by renovating an existing space, school officials have an opportunity to gauge its success. As progress is evaluated and the program is fine-tuned, school leaders might again look at constructing a new building for expansion after the program has been in place for a couple of years.