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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Save CR Heritage asking Cedar Rapids school board to reconsider demolishing Harrison Elementary
Board plans to build a new school at the northwest Cedar Rapids site
Oct. 18, 2023 1:57 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — Save CR Heritage — a nonprofit dedicated to saving historic properties — is appealing to the Cedar Rapids school board to reconsider its decision earlier this year to demolish Harrison Elementary School.
Save CR Heritage submitted over 500 petition signatures of eligible voters within the Cedar Rapids Community School District, which requires the school board to place the request on its agenda within 30 days of receiving the petition, according to Iowa Code.
The school board will hear public comment asking members to “overturn the recommendation to demolish Harrison Elementary School” — the language on the petition — at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Rd. NW in Cedar Rapids. Anyone is invited to attend and sign up to speak.
On Tuesday, Save CR Heritage hosted a “March for Harrison” to show support for saving the school. About 15 people participated in the demonstration outside the building, 1310 11th St. NW.
Harrison is one of seven public schools in Cedar Rapids built before World War II, opening in 1930. The school contains a mural painted later in the 1930s by William Henning, a contemporary of Grant Wood, who is known for his depictions of the rural Midwest. School officials have said that mural will be preserved.
The school was declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in January 2014, Save CR Heritage board member Cindy Hadish said, providing paperwork to The Gazette. Hadish said the board should consider the grants and incentives available for properties on this list that could help the district fund upgrades for less than the cost of demolishing the school and building new.
In April, the school board decided to have Harrison Elementary demolished and a new building constructed on its site. The vote was 6-1, with Dexter Merschbrock opposing.
Under the plan, Madison Elementary School, 1341 Woodside Dr. NW, would close and the attendance zone combined with Harrison Elementary by fall 2025. No decision has been made about the future of the Madison Elementary building or its land.
The board’s concept deviates from two recommendations made earlier this year for the future of Harrison Elementary from a volunteer focus group, based on an assessment of both schools from Legat Architects, an architecture firm in Iowa City.
The new recommendation was made by Cedar Rapids schools’ administration following community feedback. It was not clear at the time which administrators were involved in making the recommendation to the school board.
The plan costs $28.9 million — $1 million less than the initial recommendation presented to the school board at an April 10 meeting. The cost includes:
- The cost of a new building
- Demolishing the existing building for $350,000
- Salvaging and reinstalling historical elements of Harrison Elementary in to the new building for $400,000
Members of the volunteer group spoke out against the new plan in April, saying they were presented only with two options: renovating and building an addition to Harrison Elementary, or building a new school on the site of Madison Elementary and tearing down the current facility.
The closure and repurposing of schools is part of a 2018 facilities master plan, which includes building 10 elementary schools and renovating three over the next 15 to 20 years in the Cedar Rapids district. This process included the closure and repurposing of eight schools.
As part of this plan, the Cedar Rapids district built and opened West Willow Elementary School in August 2021, which replaced Coolidge Elementary. Maple Grove Elementary opened in August 2022 to replace Jackson Elementary.
Each new elementary school will serve between 500 to 600 students. Right now, elementary schools vary in student population, serving between 200 to 500 students, creating an inequitable distribution of resources.
Improvements to Cedar Rapids elementary schools are being funded by Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE), an existing statewide school infrastructure sales and services tax.
Last year, Save CR Heritage also completed a petition drive over the closure of Garfield Elementary School to be reconsidered by the school board. The board heard from families, educators and community members both in opposition to and in support of closing Garfield in May 2022.
Ultimately, the board did not reverse its decision. Garfield Elementary will be closed next fall and a new elementary school — Trailside Elementary, 2630 B Ave. NE — will replace it and Arthur Elementary School, and their attendance zones will be combined.
The plan does not include demolishing Arthur Elementary, also at 2630 B Ave. NE, and Garfield Elementary, 1201 Maplewood Dr. NE, which will be repurposed with community input.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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