My name is Michael Misovich.  I live at 630 Putnam St., in Terre Haute.  My daughter attends Farrington Grove elementary school. 

 

I am here to represent the views of Farrington's Grove Historical District, Inc.  We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to guide and promote the preservation and restoration of the Farrington's Grove Historical District, Terre Haute's first residential historic district, which was founded in 1976, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

 

On November 5, in response to news coverage of a potential closing of Crawford School, the board of directors of our organization unanimously passed a resolution opposing the closing of Crawford School.  Before we could go public with our concerns, we were contacted by members of our organization, other residents of Farrington's Grove, and Crawford School parents, all asking for support in keeping the school open.  I also began to receive calls from representatives of the media.  In late November, we completed a letter to Superintendent Tanoos stating the views of Farrington's Grove Historical District on this issue, and asking that the interests of the larger community be considered.  You should have received a copy of this letter.

 

On December 6, Superintendent Tanoos invited me to meet with him, deputy superintendent Goeller, and director of elementary education Correll to discuss this issue.  I was asked to defend the relevance of my organization's involvement in opposing the closing of Crawford School.  Please allow me to make a demonstration for the Board.

 

If I may, I would like to circulate this map of the Farrington's Grove Historical District among the board members.  The district runs approximately from 4th Street to 7th Street, and from Poplar Street to Hulman Street.  I have marked the location of Crawford School with a white circle, and used a white stripe to designate the boundary dividing Crawford from Farrington Grove school.  I would like you to note that the majority of our historical district, approximately three-quarters of it, is located within the boundary of Crawford School.  Only a small section on the far south end attends Farrington Grove school.  Despite its name, Farrington Grove school is NOT located in our historical district.  Crawford Elementary is the only school located within our district.

 

Studies by the National Trust for Historic Preservation have shown that closing a school in a historic neighborhood frequently leads to decline and deterioration.  The quality and availability of our schools is a major marketing point that Farrington's Grove Historical District uses to attract families with young children to purchase homes in the neighborhood.  When these families are made aware, for example, that their children can walk to a neighborhood school, on sidewalks, within a residential area, this produces a favorable contrast to outlying areas and subdivisions where children must walk in streets and along curbs to wait for school buses.

 

The interaction between Crawford students and teachers and our community is strong and positive.  Only recently, the "Adopt a Grandparent" program where Crawford students visit residents of Anthony Square was prominently featured in news broadcasts.  In another school project, Crawford students developed a website on the history of Farrington's Grove Historical District. 

 

The Crawford School building, although not as old as most of the surrounding houses in our district, is of some historical interest.  It was designed by Juliet Peddle, a native of Terre Haute, and the first female registered architect in the state of Indiana.  To underscore Miss Peddle's importance, the American Institute of Architects Indiana has named a major award in her honor.

 

I look forward to receiving the study on the Crawford School issue from the administration.  Perhaps it will clear up some of the confusion regarding the alleged educational and economic benefits of closing Crawford School.  For example, the closing of Warren Elementary has been cited as a precedent.  I hope to see some evidence that the performance of the former Warren students has improved in a statistically significant amount since being transferred to Meadows and Lost Creek.  It is not enough to say that a newer building means a better education.  If that were true, why would anyone send their children to Harvard or Yale? 

 

I also hope to see an accurate appraisal of the economics of closing schools like Crawford in order to build a new elementary school.  In Kokomo, the school corporation was about to close a downtown high school, built in 1914, because the renovation cost was estimated at $20 to 24 million.  The proposed new school would cost $7 million.  One school board member questioned these numbers, and when an accurate estimate was made, the renovations only cost $4 million.  Kokomo now has a modern, up-to-date, accessible, technology-capable high school housed in a beautiful historic structure at a large savings to its taxpayers.

 

It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to address the school board of one of finest school corporations in the State of Indiana.  I ask your consideration of the interests of the community when the decision is made on Crawford School next month.  Thank you.