GOULDS, Fla. – A historic school in South Florida’s Goulds community appears to be in shambles.
Local 10 News took some troubling images of Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts to the Miami-Dade School Board member who represents the district and she agreed that things are bad.
The passionate parents and teachers who are so proud of their students at the award-winning school have been begging for attention to the deteriorating building.
There is rotting wood in dangerous places, mold, peeling paint and damaged ceilings.
“The last concert we went to, they had a massive rainstorm,” said parent Bruce Ford. “The brand new renovated auditorium leaked horribly to the point that we couldn’t use it. We had to cancel and postpone that event.”
Local 10 News spoke to officials who said the fix is actually in.
“In this school, we are looking at a complete replacement,” said school board member Luisa Santos.
Turns out, the school is in for a $30 million state-of-the-art upgrade in the next five years, while somehow keeping its historic value.
Arthur and Polly Mays started the school as a place for Black children when what was then Dade County was part of the segregated South. They are now known as champions of education there.
In the meantime, the short-term urgent issues remain.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen without parental pressure, without teacher and staff pressure and without community pressure,” said Ford.