http://setxbayou.blogspot.com/2009_06_28_archive.html
Southeast Texas Bayou (Beaumont Enterprise Blogger)
Daybreaker: You had your chance Greenies, now move along
All of this whining and moaning over an 87-year-old building that isn't fit for human habitation. Too bad we can't get this kind of grassroots effort rolling when it comes to replacing the BISD board and King Thomas. If anything needs to be demolished, it's the BISD brain trust (and we use that term loosely).
But a small, vocal faction of South Park alumni have succeeded in getting a district judge to grant a temporary injunction. An injunction that, in the end, probably just prevents the inevitable. After all, who is going to pay to not only restore the massive, troubled building, but maintain it? Lamar ain't gonna do it. They've already committed to a far more effective plan, leasing space at the downtown library.
In the end, it's just a building, folks. And a heath hazard at that.
Majestic on the outside, crumbling from within. South Park Middle School is an empty vessel. And according to BISD officials, who are about as trustworthy as your average 16-year-old, in need of immediate replacement. The plan to demolish what was once South Park High School was part of the voter-approved bond. The key phrase there is "voter-approved." Whether the building should be removed or not is irrelevant, since the voters have already given the district the OK.
At a town hall meeting to discuss the closure, most of the sentiment was pro-demolition. And now, all of a sudden there's an outcry?
"Two studies have shown South Park to be in bad condition. The first, performed by Houston consultant 3DI listed South Park in "poor condition" along with nine elementary schools, five middle schools and one high school, according to a previous Enterprise story. A second study performed solely on South Park by CSF Engineers of Houston showed that renovating the building would cost significantly more than building a new one."
All of this sentimental gobbledigook is a pleasant diversion, but fruitless. The building has gotta go. And students need a safe place to learn. We spend a lot of time banging on the BISD -- and deservedly so -- but in this case, they're doing the right thing.
But you can't tear it down, they say; it has a "historical marker." You can put a sign in front any old building, but it doesn't prohibit the district from acting. According to the Texas Historical Commission:
"Subject markers are solely educational in nature and convey no legal designation or restrictions to the property."
You can see the listing here. In addition, the school is NOT a state archeological landmark. So despite the injunction, there is nothing to prevent the district from EVENTUALLY moving FORWARD.
Which is exactly what the Greenies should do. It's hackneyed, but true: the memories that former-Greenies have of their beloved school aren't going anywhere. But a building -- without water leaks, mold and structural deficiencies -- needs to be erected in its place. This is for the children of Beaumont. They deserve a sound school -- not some diseased building that could give them mold-induced asthma.
Or, as a former alum said in the comments section of the Save South Park website:
"Sad to see the end of a legacy. For safety reasons the building should probably be demolished. But from an emotional standpoint, it sucks!!"
As our patron saint of reinvention, Mick Jaggar, once said: "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need." Beaumont needs a new school.
POSTED BY GATOR AT 12:03 AM Thursday, July 2, 2009
40 comments
Anonymous said...
The plan to demolish what was once South Park High School was part of the voter-approved bond. The key phrase there is "voter-approved." Whether the building should be removed or not is irrelevant, since the voters have already given the district the OK.
Okay people - it is true. Gator is stupid. Or simply does not get history? Gator baiting. Gator is not that stupid.
July 2, 2009 12:18 AM
Scrounger said...
If South Park is 'just a building' then The Alamo in San Antonio is just an old Spanish mission.
And........for the record......that piece of paper that shows the bond issue was shown on camera on Channel 6 says the South Park building is to remain. So, to that extent you are wrong. The voters did not elect to have the building torn down.
July 2, 2009 12:50 AM
Screw BISD feed em fish heads said...
Let us not overlook the obvious. BISD went insolvent and was attached to SPISD by the courts. BISD should have been allowed to go totally insolvent and absorbed by SPISD on the condition that none of the former BISD school board members be allowed to ever be elected to the SPISD board. Since that didn't happen the cancer than made the BISD insolvent has run the merged school districts into the ground and allowed anything associated with South Park to fall into neglect and disrepair. A scorched earth policy if you will. That teaches and promotes hate or at the very least, ill will. And, this crap about "let it go" is exactly that. CRAP! Gator, you are an idiot if you think for a moment that South Park history is not worth preserving. It may just be a building to some. But, it represents a community to others. To BISD it's a reminder of the district that saved their ass from insolvency. And, to that extent it's a thorn in their side that they want removed at all costs. Carroll Thomas doesn't have the testicular fortitude to keep his promise not to tear down the building. He's just a overpaid punk in a suit and tie when he's not showboating in a cowgirl hat over in Houston. Remember? Yeah. We do too.
July 2, 2009 1:31 AM
Disappointed said...
"You had your chance Greenies, now move along"??? What a rude headline to place in large font at the top of the Enterprise homepage!
And we (Greenies AND non-Greenie Beaumont residents who care about history) did NOT 'have a chance', we were misled and ignored.
July 2, 2009 5:33 AM
Anonymous said...
Not being a GREENIE most would not understand. It the days of South Park Greenies there was no black, white, or any other colors. ALL THE STUDENTS WERE GREEN and now you see where the loyality stands. Once a greenie always a greenie. LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK
July 2, 2009 5:40 AM
Anonymous said...
What very few people don't realize is that the building that everyone calls South Park is where Lamar University got its start. In the history room there was yearbooks dating back to the year 1917. This fine old building has withstood more storms and come out with less damage than ANY NEW BUILDING BISD HAS BUILT.
July 2, 2009 5:44 AM
Save South Park said...
People must have forgotten that the Julie Rogers Theater was formerly the old Beaumont City Auditorium. It was completely gutted and renovated about 30+ years ago and the exterior of the building preserved. I don't know if the South Park building would be more expensive to preserve than to build from scratch. I do know that Beaumont has a record of tearing down it's old buildings and homes rather than preserve them, which is SAD for our future generations who won't have any historial buildings. The South Park building has so much history. If it's possible to save it, even if it cost more, I think it will be money well spent.
July 2, 2009 6:07 AM
Cartman said...
No doubt Supt. Thomas wants to rid BISD of any "white" history or influence. You will respect his authority.
July 2, 2009 6:27 AM
Anne said...
I think one of the major problems with the old South Park HS building is the fact that there is lead piping throughout the building and probably layers and layers of lead based paint on the walls. The water fountains, the kitchen water sources are all carrying lead directly to the mouths of students.
It is a pretty building and I suggest everyone who sees it should take a picture of it.
All the interior is crumbling and it's not healthy for students or staff. The facilities are not adequate for the number of students, including parking space,gyms,shop buildings and all the other added on areas.
I went to South Park as did all my siblings and children. It's just a dilapidated old pretty building, not the throne of the universe. The students deserve better and replacing it is not a massive insult to the former students.
How many people who have posted here have children currently attending South Park? Anyone? I'm betting not. It's a good thing to honor and remember pretty old things, but it's just an old, expensive, and outdated building with health issues now. Time to go.
July 2, 2009 7:00 AM
Disappointed said..
Anne: "there is lead piping throughout the building and probably layers and layers of lead based paint on the walls."
Well gee, obviously no old building in the nation should've ever been preserved/renovated, because they were all built with those issues. (That's sarcasm.)
July 2, 2009 7:08 AM
Anonymous said...
Why don't the "Greenies" ever comment about the harrassment they inflicted on all of the black kids that use to attend games at the stadium over at South Park?
It was terrible...
Also, the South Park school district was very racist as well.
Separate but equal.
Love him or hate, but Dr. thomas has done more to improve the academic environment of children in Beaumont than SPISD ever would have done.
July 2, 2009 7:55 AM
Teacher said...
Let it rest, people. No one has considered the children that are the future of South Park. How many of you have spent time in the building recently? There are holes in the floor on third floor, mold around the ceiling on second, and walls that ooze black stuff on the first. When it rains, the first floor floods and the girls bathroom floor stands in water. How can that possibly be safe? Rats stick their head out of the ceiling during class. But, hey, lets keep educating children there, so the out-of-town old people can hold on to their memories. Sounds like a plan to me.
LET IT GO, GREENIES
July 2, 2009 7:58 AM
Anonymous said...
I went to SP and had a great time. If all of these "Greenies" care so much about the school and the area, I suggest they invest in some neighborhood property and let their grandkids mingle with the current residents;let's see how long their "commitment" lasts. The current school has gang symbols all around the campus. SP is dead. As far as preserving the "white" history, please,the whites have fled; decisions and consequences.
July 2, 2009 8:00 AM
Wonko Sane said...
Anne is right about the building. What do you expect the school district to do, keep funneling money into it. And to Anonymous' point above, SP did sustain plenty of damage during the hurricanes, there was quite a bit of water damage, it is not the Taj Mahal.
If you want to keep it, come up with a plan, don't force it on the school district to preserve your memories.
July 2, 2009 8:07 AM
PJ said...
I applaud the historical society for the effort, but too little, too late, I'm afraid. This mentality of new is better has had stranglehold on our educational leaders for decades, not just Thomas' tenure. Whether due to court orders, economics, racial pandering, whatever, the closing of so many high schools (BHS, CPS, Hebert, Forrest Park, French, SP) in Beaumont to consolidate into just three mega-schools was a huge mistake in the first place. By warehousing children instead of preserving neighborhood schools, Beaumont lost a wealth of alumni base support. Changing the name to Central HS, for instance, lost the loyalty of many successful Beaumont HS alumni who could be tapped for community support, invaluable to a child's education. but this is water under the bridge now. When will we wake up and realize that bigger, newer, and changing the name is not always better when it comes to the education of our kids? "It takes a village to raise a child" may sound may sound cliche, but it is true. You'll never see Kelly change its name or mascot, because the papists know what alumni dollars can do for a school.
July 2, 2009 8:10 AM
Anonymous said...
Just wondering...How many of you folks that want to save the old South Park building actually have kids that go to the school?
July 2, 2009 8:20 AM
Here's your sign said...
How does it concern the preservation of a historical landmark if some black kid's grandfather was mistreated by a white 200 years ago? It doesn't. But, Carroll Thomas thinks it does. South Park isn't a Confederate flag. It's a fine older building that represents a time in Beaumont history as much as any other landmark worth saving for future generations to see. If BISD wants to tear down the building, then their Central high school building must fall too. Or did BISD take better care of their old 'home court' through the years? Hmmm. Wonder why that would be. BISD wants to eliminate anything and everything that reminds them of going insolvent and being saved by SPISD. That's gratitude for you. It stinks and shouldn't be allowed. I hope and pray that the historical society gets a permanent injunction against BISD and saves that grande dame South Park building. BISD can build a new school on the back lot within the same block as the building they want to tear down. It's vacant and construction could begin at once. But, noooooooooo. The BISD head fool Thomas wants to see the South Park building razed to rubble. That's cruel and criminal. It's what we've come to expect from Thomas. Maybe his reign of terror and South Park destruction is at an end?
July 2, 2009 8:21 AM
PJ said...
This is about the kids needing a safe school, not racial history in Beaumont. Greenies making this out to be something racial is not helping their cause. Doubt anyone even remembered about the merger until the Greenies brought it up. But good idea about putting a new building on the vacant lot, that compromise would work; now if only someone could come up with a use for the old building!
July 2, 2009 8:35 AM
FF said...
Wouldn't everybody's best interests be served if a virtual video was made of the old school...before it is demolished? Then, the diehards can relive their distorted memories of middle school at will.
Within 20 years, the old fossils who were pictured protesting on the 6 O’clock News will be moldering in their graves.
Other than a few wannabe rabble rousers who fain South Park nostalgia…and would protest the destruction of every outhouse that predates the in-house crapper…who actually cares about keeping the old building alive on life support?
This old eyesore has had its half century of fame. Let’s pull the plug and end the misery.
July 2, 2009 8:51 AM
Harley said...
Wait, if we demolish and before we demolish the building, let it stand until the crack heads, gangs, and whores accompanied the building. Then flatten it - problem solved with building gone and undesirables buried in the rubble. No small wonder the whites moved out and while the unwanted buried, the whites might move back. How can we lure the BISD school board in the building just before demolishing?
Oh wait, I forgot Golden Triangle is the litigation capital of Texas... never mind. Damn, I had a good idea.
July 2, 2009 10:06 AM
Doc Thomas BISD=LIARS!! said...
"Voter approved"..means NOTHING!!!
We,the VOTERS were LIED to prior to the vote...therefore we were not TRUTHFULLY informed to begin with!!
BISD Board & Doc Thomas=LIARS!!!
July 2, 2009 10:25 AM
Anonymous said...
I am a graduate of South Park High School and I still live in South Park. I don't need that building to still stand in order for my memories of it to survive. I feel my area of town would be better off with a nice new school building on the same site. It will bring a sense of newness and worthiness to the area and could attract new business and new development. All of you Greenies who no longer live in the area, as far as I am concerned, you have no right to speak about what should be done in this area. You don't live here anymore. We need to look at what is best for the kids going there now, and for this end of town. So shut up. Let us have our new school. Quit interfering with my neighborhood.
July 2, 2009 10:35 AM
Disappointed said...
Um, there is already a "nice new school building" right next door! Clearly, just having a new school building is not the solution to improving the area, and certainly not such a surefire fix that it's a reason to not renovate and have a nice old school building with historic significance instead.
July 2, 2009 10:50 AM
Anonymous said...
Gator, you've revealed yourself to be a Koolaid drinker, big time. If the building is so dangerous...why are BISD employees working in it even now? BISD long ago stopped even basic maintenance...no doubt Mr. Thomas' salary was more important.
This is so typical of Beaumont, which can't even muster the historical pride to mark the proper site of Spindletop...much less preserve any old historical buildings.
SPISD defied Beaumont, and that is why the building must be torn down, the rubble scattered, and the earth salted.
The old building also reminds us that black people are as racist and destructive as whites...witness what has become of the community in the last 30 years.
I predict that the old building will fall, by hook or by crook - because painful truths are too hard to see. Beaumont loses, again.
July 2, 2009 11:55 AM
Carol Ann said...
Well I guess I know now how the Beaumont Enterprise stands. You can have my subscription. Thanks.
July 2, 2009 12:55 PM
Ain't it the truth? said...
Beaumont's new slogan:
History is bullshit. Live for today. Visit our town? It has nothing to say. What we could have saved we bulldozed away.
Beaumont's new motto:
BEAUMONT: WHERE HISTORY MEANS NOTHING!
July 2, 2009 1:41 PM
Anonymous said...
Yeah, just postponing the inevitable. All this whining is funny in a way, though. Why didn't the Beaumont Heritage foundation (or whatever the hell it is) get its panties in a bunch when Amelia Elementary was torn down? Was that building not worth saving?
I would love to see the building remain, but the group has never offered ONE SINGLE possible use for it if the district sinks money into it. And why won't Lamar buy the damn thing so people will shut the hell up? If it's so significant, then surely they would want it, right? To me, the Greenies gave up on that school when they gave up on their neighborhood. (Face it, most of you don't even live in the district now anyway.)
If the building gets saved, do us all a favor. Don't gripe and complain ANYMORE about how you think BISD is wasteful when you have forced me to waste my money for a building to just sit there so you can drive by and say "I went there." Sounds kind of ridiculous when plainly put, eh?
July 2, 2009 3:00 PM
Anonymous said...
Wow, Greenies, here's some food for thought:
Imagine how much more community support you'd have if most people didn't associate comments like the one Harley made (@ 10:06 a.m.) with your "cause."
July 2, 2009 3:01 PM
Anonymous said...
Carol Ann:
If you think this blog represents the newspapers' opinion, I think you could use some common sense.
July 2, 2009 3:02 PM
Anonymous said...
Anon 11:55 a.m. said:
"The old building also reminds us that black people are as racist and destructive as whites...witness what has become of the community in the last 30 years."
That's some pretty flawed logic. You don't assign any blame to the people who threw up their hands and ran away with their tails between their legs because people who didn't look like them moved in next door? Please. People who think like you are what's wrong with Beaumont.
July 2, 2009 3:07 PM
Anonymous said...
Look, this is not just about Greenie nostalgia. It is about fiscal responsibility. BISD wants to build a new school on the site at a cost of 27 MILLION DOLLARS. The entire Crockett Street renovation project was less than 20 million dollars, that was for a whole city block of old buildings to be completely redone. The win-win solution is to save the shell, the facade, GUT the interior and make it new and up to code. The current residents of South Park get their "new" school and the Greenies don't have to watch their histroy destroyed. AND IT CAN BE DONE FOR LESS THAN 27 MILLION, I GURANTEE YOU THAT
July 2, 2009 3:37 PM
exbmter said...
The founders of South Park were immigrants who weren't allowed to send their children to BISD. Then, Spindletop came along and all of a sudden BISD wanted to merge. A federal judge finally did it for them. They elected a new school board, made up of mostly BISD former patrons, and, guess what, they renamed the school district from SPISD to BISD. This is just another step to destroy the heritage of the SPISD. And, they wonder why people are fleeing this city left and right and those who stay don't want to support the district. Give it up folks, it's a done deal.
July 2, 2009 4:36 PM
Disappointed said...
Anonymous 3:00 PM: "If the building gets saved, do us all a favor. Don't gripe and complain ANYMORE about how you think BISD is wasteful when you have forced me to waste my money for a building to just sit there so you can drive by and say 'I went there.'"
Right, because if we manage to get BISD to do one good thing, that would mean we shouldn't point out anything else they do that isn't good. (That's sarcasm.)
As Anonymous 5:44 AM said, all the people and businesses who benefit from having Lamar University and LIT in this area should appreciate South Park, not only the people who went to South Park HS.
July 2, 2009 4:42 PM
Town Cryer said...
Gator, here's your sign...
July 2, 2009 5:44 PM
Anonymous said...
I have read some of the dumdest excuses to why SP should be demolished. Let me tell you a few things I went to SP in 68 when we were intergrated we did not have the choice but we got along each other. BISD was broke and SPISD baled them out.If Thomas and the board would have taken care of all the Schools there would not be any Bond election. The board is the ones that voted for Thomas' BIG salary.In stead of keeping the schools in good condition they would rather make Thomas a Millionaire
July 2, 2009 8:06 PM
Buddy said...
Comparing what was once South Park High School to the Alamo is a stretch. It is an old building that many apparently have a sentimental (or even psychotic) attachment to long after high school. Give it up.
July 3, 2009 8:03 AM
Anonymous said...
I say we name the new BISD athletic complex after Jerry Mallet. He was the long time, respected principal at Forest Park High School. Seems only fair since they changed Hebert to Ozen after their principal. They also changed all of the school names from famous Texas heroes to famous black names. The "Jerry Mallet Athletic Complex". Has a good ring to it.
July 4, 2009 6:30 AM
Anonymous said...
exbmter:
People aren't fleeing the city because of anyone diminishing the "heritage" of SPISD (and I rolled out of my chair laughing and almost choked on my food when I read that). You all are leaving because too many people that don't look like you have moved in. Face it, that's at the root of the whole BISD/SPISD feud and you know it.
July 5, 2009 2:38 PM
Anonymous said...
PJ:
Just to make sure I understand you, you said that old Beaumont High graduates refuse to support the district all because the name of their school was changed?
Ohhh, Beaumont, we have some MAJOR issues!
July 5, 2009 2:41 PM
Former Beaumonter said...
The problem is also with the "old money" in Beaumont. It's the same old families that run it, whether they're elected or not.
Face it, money buys the politicians. If you're an outsider, you're aloud to live here and work for a plant or something, but if you disagree with the power structure, they'll run you out of town so quick your head will spin.
There aren't enough working, middle class families to replace the ones who are leaving and you're pretty much stuck with a huge ghetto with a few pockets of wealth.
It won't change, no matter how much you want it to. If you want change, you just need to move out and let it continue to decay. The surrounding communities have a lot to offer and you can still make the trip to work in the plants daily.
July 5, 2009 2:57 PM