Blue Dogs Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Any reaction from those about HISD's plans on getting rid of Wheatley High School despite protests from the community ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Apparently the demolition is being halted.....again! Seriously if these people didn't want the demolition to happen then where were these people at the HISD Bond election? Or just HISD board meetings in general? This is getting ridiculous! http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Demolition-of-old-Wheatley-building-on-hold-5845300.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 They're desperately trying to maintain the status quo and don't realize everything in Houston (and Texas in particular) is changing around them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largeTEXAS Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Wheatley is a beautiful school full of history. I would be extremely sad to see it go. "Change" does not have to mean tearing everything down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Apparently the demolition is being halted.....again! Seriously if these people didn't want the demolition to happen then where were these people at the HISD Bond election? Or just HISD board meetings in general? This is getting ridiculous! http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Demolition-of-old-Wheatley-building-on-hold-5845300.php Who says they weren't at board meetings and protesting this demolition from the start? They're desperately trying to maintain the status quo and don't realize everything in Houston (and Texas in particular) is changing around them. The old San Jacinto High School has been able to stick around, get repurposed as the original site of HSPVA, purchased by HCC, and get renovated TWICE since HCC has owned it. I guess they should've maintained the status quo and torn it down in the 70s and put a parking lot there, right? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Next, they'll have Quanell X going off like an idiot attacking HISD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 They did save Robert E. Lee Elementary School as a community center... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 We'll see what happens next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 For the last three months, the old Wheatley High School has remained standing with a large hole in its side.Crews hired by the Houston Independent School District had started to tear down the Fifth Ward building to make way for a facility, but two lawsuits seeking to preserve the 1929 structure have put the demolition on hold.On Monday, the latest case is scheduled to proceed in a Harris County courtroom. HISD officials plan to ask state District Judge Dan Hinde to dismiss the lawsuit filed by three alumni who live or used to live in the neighborhood. The parties failed to reach an agreement during a private meeting that lasted several hours @ HISD headquarters this week.Reaction on the ongoing contentious battle over Wheatley High ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 Iron Tiger, Houston ISD has been given the go-ahead to demolish Wheatley High yesterday by a State District Judge, who ruled in the district's favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 They aren't wasting any time - it is being demolished as I type this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 They aren't wasting any time - it is being demolished as I type this...WOW ! I bet the community is either pissed off or finding another strategy on what's next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I haven't been following the Wheatley story too closely, but according to Wikipedia, Wheatley was always problematic and rumors of closure existed even back in the late 1970s, and already the school was rebuilt in 2006. The Carter Career Center/DeVry Advantage Academy building, which was Wheatley's building seems to be the object in question. Is it 3415 Lyons Avenue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Yes, it's 3415 Lyons Avenue. I don't really understand the contempt on this thread for those who want to save Wheatley. Imagine if every historic white high school in Houston were rolled into one - would it get demolished? Not in 100 years. That's basically what this was for the black community - their one historic high school. Plus it was an architectural landmark even without the segregation history. Also, the mention that it "was always problematic" is a red herring. We are talking about a building, not some problematic students from decades ago. (The 2006 reconstruction refers to an entirely different site, btw, and resulted in a bland suburban-looking campus.) Plenty of non-"problematic" students went to this school - do they get to have a history? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Big question is where are the Wheatley High students going to end up now ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 (edited) Big question is where are the Wheatley High students going to end up now ?Uh, did you read the preceding post? The building they demolished hasn't been used for Wheatley in decades. Edited December 12, 2014 by IronTiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 I've read it, but the big question I was meaning to ask is why didn't the community attend the HISD meetings earlier to protest against the school board's decision to demolish Wheatley ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Are you sure they didn't attend the meetings? Also, one wonders how well publicized the meetings were. Granted HISD is always having meetings, but unless community residents had made a routine habit of going to school board meetings, would they have known of the demolition plans before late in the process? Lots of unknowns here obviously, but controversial things often fly under the radar (one thinks of ill-publicized freeway expansion meetings), and I don't think there should be a late penalty for objecting to the loss of an 88 year old, rather pretty building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'm also interested in the other, later Wheatley school, which was built in the late 40's at 4900 Market and demolished in 2006 for the current suburban-style structure. Apparently it was designed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright and touted by the city as the finest black school in the South. Has anyone seen a photo?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 HISD Superintendent Terry Greir got a salary increase according to the Houston Chronicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 The old Wheatley High School, circa 1940s, faced Market Street (roughly where the north part of the track & field are now) but also had this cupola-looking thing that was saved and implemented in the new school, same location. It must have some sort of significance. Frankly, I don't see what's the big problem with a "bland suburban-looking campus" for the current campus. While I probably would've liked to see the older high school renovated and expanded, it's better a "bland suburban-looking campus" than something that screams "ghetto inner-city school", which is probably what the older school invoked, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Dogs Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Houston Chronicle reported that TX Education Commissioner Michael L. Williams has ordered that LaMarque ISD be closed down.Any reaction to this development? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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