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Time catches up with historic school
By ROBERT KING BROOKSVILLE -- The old Moton School, which for decades was home to the county's black schoolchildren until integration came along in 1968, is at another crossroads -- and not everyone is pleased. The school district, led by superintendent Wendy Tellone, wants to give up ownership of the deteriorating, if historic, collection of buildings on School Street that for 30 years served as a hub of activity in predominantly black south Brooksville. Now known as the Robert R. Moton Early Intervention Center, the old campus currently is home to a federal Head Start program, a dental clinic, a sheriff's substation and -- for five more school days -- the school district's prekindergarten early intervention program. On Dec. 3, the 20 students in the pre-K program will pack up and move about a half-mile away to Moton Elementary School. The pre-K staff -- including a director, secretary and part-time custodians -- will be assigned to other jobs in the county. Moving the program is expected to save the school district $192,000 a year. And, in a letter to pre-K parents, Tellone said children and their families will benefit from the greater opportunities and resources available at the elementary school. Just as important to Tellone and several of her School Board members is the chance to relieve the district of the burden of maintaining the 60-plus-year-old structure, a $65,000 annual expense. They are willing to turn the building over to a community group or another public agency at little or no cost. But even though groups such as the NAACP have been mentioned as having an interest, it isn't clear who is willing to take over the building and keep it repaired. Graydon Howe, the district's facilities director, said he has been encouraging school officials to give up the building for years. Its problems make it a challenge just to keep it up to code. "We've got health violations, and we're just trying to stay ahead of it," he said. School Board member Sandra Nicholson said that for years she has been a "lone ranger" when it comes to urging the district to divest itself of the old Moton School property and its growing upkeep costs. School Board chairman Jim Malcolm said he "sees some positives" in giving up the Moton School for someone else to maintain. "It just gets the School Board out from underneath a facility that is costing us money, and it kind of brings the (pre-K) program back into the fold where it should be," he said. Even in his last weeks on the job, former superintendent John Sanders lamented what to do about the "conundrum" presented by the old school. The campus is so small that to make it into an elementary school would be very costly for the county in terms of administrative and overhead costs. Besides, Sanders said, the terrible condition and growing maintenance costs make the building a good candidate for demolition. Still, Sanders knew tearing down the building would be unpopular. And he left the matter for his successor to resolve. "It's a historical site," Sanders told the St. Petersburg Times in August. "To the people in that community, it's home." For 30 years, the Moton School was home to all of the county's black elementary and high school students. It was the hub of many of the social activities in the community. Teachers and students were often next-door neighbors. And those who came through the school said the relationships were as much like family as teacher and student. All that ended in 1968, when the county's schools were integrated. In the decades since, the old Moton campus has served as an elementary school and as a community center. Talk about giving up the building has been around for at least a decade. Until 1998, the district received state money for offering a "full-service" school at the site -- in other words, families could get day care, medical attention and other children's services, in addition to the pre-K program. But since the full-service cash dried up in 1998, Tellone said, the district really hasn't had much of an incentive to stay in business at 835 School St. Still, word of the changes coming to the Moton School do not sit well with some. Andrew Williams, a member of Moton School's Class of 1966, said it is "ludicrous" for the school district to say it cannot afford to maintain the building, given the abundance of state and federal grants available for historic preservation. Someone, he said, is dropping the ball. "It is old, I'll grant you that," Williams said. "Let's face it, it's not as old as the old courthouse and some other old structures around here. The things that the powers that be want to preserve can be preserved." Wilbur A. Bush, a member of Moton's Class of 1956 who still lives within walking distance of the school, said he appreciates the school district's interest in cutting costs. But he said Tellone should have come and talked to community members about the school's future before advocating that the school district separate itself from the Moton property. Hazel Land, a 1949 graduate of the school and a current Brooksville resident, said she is "saddened" by the school district's desire to part with the building. Ideally, she said, the district would continue to use it and expand the programs offered at the site. Williams has a loftier dream. He said he would like to see the district invigorate the buildings with an arts school like the one depicted in the movie and TV series Fame. All of them share a hope that their former home still has a useful purpose to serve, most likely as a center for community gatherings and social events, much like it was in the old days. "It goes back to our roots, something we can think about," said Land. "It was more than just a school. It was a community meeting place. It was really a place where all the community had a part in it." -- Staff writer Robert King covers education in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com.
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