Roosevelt High School
Gary Crusader calls out Gary school district over plans for Roosevelt
Contributed By:The 411 News
Investigates motives behind reports of 2nd walkthrough at closed school
Closed since February and its students attending classes in the Gary Career Center, Roosevelt High School’s re-opening remains undetermined. Today, it is the subject of an investigation by the Gary Crusader Newspaper that accuses a member of the Gary schools emergency management team of lying to the public about its plans for the school.
An assessment of the building’s damages with estimated repair costs was learned in July. The extended cold spell of February’s polar vortex knocked out the school’s heating system; pipes froze and burst, causing flooding in the school.
Eric Parish, part of the MGT Consulting group team that partners with the State of Indiana in managing the Gary school district estimated an $8-$10 million minimum cost.
That cost was derived from a walkthrough of Roosevelt conducted by city building inspectors, school district buildings staff, and school board members. At the July meeting, Parish also showed a video of the inspection but didn’t give a time when repairs would start.
Some Roosevelt supporters rejected the assessment. They asked for a second walkthrough and that it include Powers & Sons Construction, a business well known and with a long history in the Gary community. Mamon Powers was at that meeting and offered to participate in a second walkthrough if asked.
That request for a second walkthrough has not been granted.
In late August, an article in The Gary 411 News reported that the school district was in talks with Powers & Sons to do a second walkthrough. The Crusader picked up the article and ran it in its September 7 issue.
The Crusader investigation story is sharply critical of Parish, reporting that Powers & Sons wasn’t in talks with the school district about a walkthrough. The article proposes Parish should have denied the newspaper reports of the second walkthrough. And by not doing so, “he boosted the hopes of faithful alumni.”
The Crusader investigation story, “A Crusader Investigation” is in the October 19 print edition.
Story Posted:10/20/2019
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