Houston schools to delay Rumble demolition

Rumble Academy students run for their buses after their school day in 2011. The buildings possible demolition has been delayed from 2014 to 2015.

BEAU CABELL bcabell@macon.com

PERRY -- Houston County schools will delay the demolition of Rumble Academy until August 2015, school officials decided Tuesday during a retreat.

The aged building, which was slated to be demolished in August 2014, will continue standing for an additional year to give the community a chance to save it.

The building is scheduled to be torn down as part of a school improvement project, a move that sparked controversy throughout the community. A group of residents rallied against the demolition, arguing that the building -- which housed the original Warner Robins High School -- is part of the towns short history and should remain standing.

Im elated that theyre giving us more time to think about this and come up with a plan, said Brian Russ, a Warner Robins High alumnus and participant in the Save Rumble movement.

The group has applied for Rumble to be designated as one of the Places in Peril by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The designation would open the door for potential grants and other funding, especially with the delay we have now, Russ said.

Still, school board members voiced concerns about how the 68-year-old building could be used. Previously, school board members have questioned the cost and efficiency of refurbishing and maintaining the old building. The demolition would cost a little more than $1 million.

While he agreed to pushing the demolition date back, school board member Skip Dawkins said a group must be completely committed to a renovation project for it to work. Otherwise, the building must be demolished, he said.

Unless youve got somebody who really wants to get in the middle of it, ... it just becomes a burden that they expect us to bear, which we cant, he said.

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Houston schools to delay Rumble demolition