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This Week In South Florida: Decaying historic magnet school has yet to see $30M investment

School Board member on Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts: ā€˜We are looking at a complete replacementā€™

GOULDS, Fla. ā€“ An award-winning magnet school that will soon put behind having to educate children in an environment with rotten wood, mold, peeling paint, and damaged ceilings.

The Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts, a magnet school at 11700 SW 216 St., in Miami-Dade Countyā€™s Goulds neighborhood has a long of programs including fashion design, visual arts, theatre, dance, music, entertainment technology, and creative writing.

Bruce Ford is among the parents who while proud of their childrenā€™s creative accomplishments at the school ā€” fear for their safety. They have collected pictures as evidence of the lack of maintenance.

ā€œThe last concert we went to, they had a massive rainstorm. The brand new renovated auditorium leaked horribly to the point that we couldnā€™t use it. We had to cancel and postpone that event,ā€ Ford said.

The school has an important history. As a married couple who owned land, Arthur and Polly Mays invested in their community and founded the school in 1914 as a haven for Black children in the segregated South.

The areaā€™s demographics have changed and Luisa Santos, a Colombian-American former MDCPS student was elected in 2020 to represent the schoolā€™s district as a Miami-Dade School Board member.

ā€œWe have significant funding for the school, itā€™s just we are not seeing it yet,ā€ Santos said, adding, ā€œIn this school, we are looking at a complete replacement.ā€

Miami-Dade County Public Schools plans to invest $30 million in the next five years. Santos said she has spent most of her time ā€œcoming up with creative solutionsā€ as the process continues.

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. Ford said the process needs to speed up.

ā€œI donā€™t think itā€™s going to happen without parental pressure, without teacher and staff pressure, and without community pressure,ā€ Ford said.


About the Author
Glenna Milberg headshot

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."

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