To the editor:

Once again I read some reporting in the Phoenix of some startlingly inept and unimaginative planning proposed for the creation of a new Bristol/Warren High School.

There is no mention of the additional wasted costs to accommodate the whole student body for a period of two years during the process while the the old school is demolished and the new one constructed and based on the BWSD track record the cost figures proposed will probably have no bearing on eventual numbers when the project is completed. The current planning team will be history by that time and only us, the poor disrespected taxpayers will be left holding the bag.

Having dealt with construction on unsuitable sites over the 50-year span of my professional career I can only concur with other letter writers that this does not seem to be the right choice of site and perhaps of professional architects and planners for the new school.

Has anyone in Town addressed the other pieces of non-productive, tax-exempt property currently not used for its intended purpose and for which there is no proposed necessary outlook? I refer here to the very large parcel of wooded property adjacent to Mount Hope Farm and currently owned by Brown University. The Town could simply acquire this property gratis by passing a ruling of eminent domain, stating that this property is required for a public purpose, the construction of a new High School Campus. Alternatively if the idea of eminent domain expropriation scares the powers that be, there is a large, high quantity site available along Metacom Road adjacent to Roger Williams University which has been offered for sale for over 20 years that, if re-zoned, would seem ideal for a new high school.

There are probably other viable options that would avoid spending funds uselessly for interim accommodations for two or more years. Perhaps the Town should set a more realistic budget forecast for long-term improvement of our whole educational system before listening to silky pipe dreams for a luxury rural campus that sounds more suitable for a big crowded wealthy city.

George Burman, AIA, Emeritus
Highland Road
Bristol