Published Wednesday, August 13, 2008
School building donated to city
The Newnan Times-Herald
The Coweta County Board of Education voted to donate the Howard Warner School building on Savannah Street to the city of Newnan on Tuesday with two stipulations -- the name of the black educator the former high school was named after remains with the building and the building is used as an educational facility.
Newnan Mayor Keith Brady said the second stipulation about it being used as an educational facility wasn't something that was discussed before, but "there are a lot of activities that go on that are educational," citing, as an example, the activities offered at the Newnan-Coweta Boys & Girl Club.
The Howard Warner building was last used as the school system's curriculum building in 2007.
The mayor said the city will decide on the building's new use after the city hears presentations from interested groups at an Aug. 26 council meeting.
The groups that have expressed an interest are ones that are involved with early childhood education and another that's promoting a community center.
The early childhood education group originates with the Commission for Early Childhood Education, a group that was formed last year as part of Coweta's Vision 2020 planning. The commission's short-term goal is to create a childhood education development center to serve children from birth to age 5. The center is to serve as a model for other satellite offices throughout the county, much like the Central Educational Center serves as the combination high school and career academy model for the state of Georgia, according to Dr. Joe Harless, an author and leader in education.
Harless, a Newnan resident, was a part of efforts to begin the CEC business and school system partnership.
Harless said the early childhood education group also wants to affiliate the early childhood development center with the county's higher ed degree goals, such as those at the University of West Georgia Newnan Center.
"We'll want to have an agreement with them to collaborate with students and serve in internships within our facility," he said.
Meanwhile, the group involved with the community center project wants the Howard Warner building to be used as a "one-stop family shop" that will serve the entire population of the community, not just those 5 years old and under, said Newnan Mayor Pro-Tem Cynthia Jenkins, who lives in the neighborhood.
Jenkins said the group wants the community center to offer constructive and educational after-school programs for older children.
"We're tired of seeing kids walk around after school. So many of them can use structured activities, but also some homework help," she said.
The group also envisions life skills development training for adults to address some of their needs with finding employment and learning how to be self-sufficient.
Jenkins said she has community support from residents and other organizations in the area, such as from the Newnan Housing Authority, for the one-stop community center.
She said the community has several daycare and early childhood programs in the area already, namely Community Action for Improvement's Headstart and early Headstart programs, the Little People's Learning Center and the Breakaway development center.
"That's not to say anything bad about the other group, but this is a greater need, and if we only have one facility, we need to do what's best for the greater amount of people."
The building was last used as a central office for curriculum for the school system. The department moved to its new location on Werz Industrial Drive in the spring of 2007, according to Dean Jackson, Coweta Schools public information officer. It also served for many years as the school system's central administrative office before the Jackson Street building north of Sprayberry Road was purchased for a central office.
Before desegregation, the Howard Warner School was the city's black high school before Central High School was built in the late 1950s and Fairmount Elementary was built in the 1960s. Howard Warner closed as a school in 1969 and became the school system's central office in the early 1970s.
The school was named in honor of Professor Howard Warner, a Newnan educator who was the son of farm laborers and sharecroppers. Warner attended Clark College in Atlanta and Fisk University in Nashville and received a master's degree from Atlanta University. He received the Distinguished Service Award for Service to the Education of Negro Children in Georgia in 1945, according to the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society's "History of Coweta County."
The school board voted on donating the Howard Warner building after a closed session late Tuesday night.
In other business following the closed session, the board also voted to approve Bonita Flounnory as an assistant principal at Poplar Road Elementary School. Flounnory has served as Newnan High School's lead counselor for several years.
