NORFOLK, Va. — The future of Maury High School in Norfolk is making it back into the spotlight. At issue is what should be done with the building that's now more than 100 years old.
Ebony Amos' daughter is a junior at the school. She told News 3's Jay Greene the building has some issues and is in a state of disrepair.
"The stairs can be hard to navigate as an accessibility issue that may be a concern, especially when they're having concerts and things like that," Amos said. "If this building is no longer serving the community and it's no longer meeting the needs of the community, then it should be torn down and replaced."
On Wednesday, the Norfolk School Board delayed a vote on a proposal that could pave the way for the school to be turned into something different like housing.
"We want to make sure that the public is completely aware of what we're doing and what we're taking up and what action may be there," said Board member Carlos Clanton. "So this isn't to delay or deter or anything else, but we want full transparency, and that we're on the same page. And then when we come together as a board, and along with the community next week, we can take action in whatever way that will look."
A student spoke before the board during Wednesday's meeting, saying he believes the best option is to completely rebuild the school.
"I recall one class where there was a rainstorm and the windows leaked enough that it destroyed an entire stack of essays," the student said. "I'm also thinking back to times when an entire hallway flooded because a pipe burst, and they just shut down the hallway. Well, they cleaned all of that up. And I think that these are certainly disruptive to learning."
The parent of an alumni said, "The best option for everyone is to renovate the historic portions of Maury as a modern school with new construction to replace the various additions."
She said if the building becomes apartments, it would be a loss for the students and the community.
"The public will no longer be able to see Maury's striking interior or attend performances in the beautiful auditorium or raise your children as part of the legacy of this iconic school," the parent said.
"The bottom line, I guess, is that the first priority that you have is to the educational needs of the students and the teachers. The second priority is it's a mighty beautiful building, and it does need to be to be preserved. We've lost so much in the city," another parents said before the board Wednesday night. "I think that the proposal that you have for a hybrid system, if done right could accomplish both of those priorities. It'll be tough. I don't know if too many places in the state that have tried this. It'll require a lot of attention and require a lot of creativity."
Some parents agree that building something new would be better.
"The truth is that Maury High School is crumbling," another parent said to the board. "Twenty years of alumni can attest to that. And all the current students and faculty endure it daily and all of the parents know that we know it, when we go and see the back-to-school nights we see the crumbling, children come home and tell us that, you know, it rained in their classroom or that there's mold and mildew."
She said the people most invested in saving the building aren't the same people who spend time there.
"The plans to renovate the existing school building both suffer from the same fundamental issue they communicate to our children and teachers that their learning environment matters less than an old building," the parent said. "Is this really the message we want to send to our kids now and in the future? Because the message is clear to the children already as they watch selections of the gym ceiling fall down during PE and walk past plasterwork that looks like a post-apocalyptic film set, not a school."
The school board, however, remains tight-lipped about what could possibly happen next.
News 3 asked the school district if it would be possible to have a look inside the building, to see what needs to be repaired.
A spokesperson for the district said it has no comment at this time.
