BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — The Bonita Springs City Council held their regular meeting Wednesday night and the big top of conversation was the historic, Bonita Springs Elementary School.
Nigel Fullick of District 5 says he reached out to Bonita's school board representative, Cathleen Morgan.
He says she told him the Lee County's school system was looking to tear down the school and the decision was firm.
In May the district decided certain buildings that make up the school needed to be torn down, with Council noting an alleged untreated termite infestation.
That school board agenda can be found here.
The Historical Society of Bonita Springs also stated school buildings 1 through 4 are slated for demolition.
"It's pretty much impossible to save the school," Nigel Fullick said at the beginning of the discussion on Wednesday night.
However, Council offered up a plan. Its members suggested to have a workshop with the school board and involve the public. They're encouraging people to reach out to the school board to advocate for it staying put, but with necessary changes to the buildings. In these meetings, the hope is for the two entities to find common ground on who would pay for the upkeep.
That disagreement fueled the council meeting.
Councilman Jesse Purdon of District 2 feels the school system should not have allegedly asked the city for financial contribution in the process, given it's not a city owned or operated building.
"They [the school district] want $10 million. That's half of the ad volorem we take in annually as a city and they want half of it with a $2.4 billion budget when they let it fall into disarray," Purdon said.
These claims are supported by documents on file at the City Clerk's office and in part shown below:
It's the only building in the city that is on the National Registry of Historic Places and has been in Bonita Springs since it was formerly called Survey in the 20s.
We reached out to the Lee County School District and below is their response:
The School Board of Lee County is aware of the recent comments made by members of the Bonita Springs City Council during their meeting on Wednesday, September 18th. Specifically, we would like to address the incorrect assertion that the School District of Lee County requested $10 million from the city. The District’s priority is always doing what's best for our students. Our Capital Plan includes the construction of a new, state-of-the-art facility for the students and staff at Bonita Springs Elementary School. Following thorough architectural reviews, it was determined that several buildings on the site would need to be torn down, including a historically designated structure. For several months, the District has engaged in open discussions with the City Council and the Bonita Springs Historical Society. They expressed a strong desire to preserve the historical designation of the building. While additional architectural studies confirmed the need for demolition, they also suggested that the façade could potentially be preserved and integrated into the new design. However, this would incur additional costs. At the City Council's request, the District explored the financial feasibility of preserving the façade. Both internal and external estimates placed the cost at approximately $10 million. This figure was shared with the City Council as part of a potential funding option, not a direct request from the District. The School District’s current plan remains to tear down several buildings on the site, including the historical structure to build the new facility that will be thoughtfully designed to reflect and honor the architectural heritage of the Bonita Springs community. The District will continue the positive relationship and partnership with city officials and members of the Bonita Springs community.
We will continue to follow this story and let you know when a town hall will be scheduled per the City Council's request.
