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EDEN — In a sense, the students, staff and faculty built the formerly all-black Douglass School.

Rebuild or renovate Douglass and Draper schools? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

Mary Catherine Bell, a 1939 graduate and former Douglass teacher, remembers that moms baked candied apples to raise money to buy an activity bus. Teachers used their money to purchase furniture for their lounge. And it was parents' pleas that eventually got classes such as typing, shorthand and cosmetology added to the school's course selection.

"Everything extra we wanted, we had to go ask for it," Bell said. "I wouldn't like to see them tear it down."

Douglass alumni don't want to lose their school. But that's a possibility as the Rockingham County Board of Education considers whether to rebuild or renovate Douglass and Draper elementary schools.

What to do with the two schools has been the topic of discussion at school board meetings in recent months. The board will meet again Wednesday to take up the issue but is not scheduled to make a decision.

An evaluation team led by Moseley Architects has recommended that most, if not all, of the buildings on the Draper and Douglass campuses be replaced.

In March, architect Jim Copeland presented the school board with prices and options for building two schools, as well as for renovating and adding to the existing buildings.

Douglass alumnus Malcolm Allen said he was pleased with the renovation plans designed by Moseley. He said that option maintains the building's heritage and satisfies those who want new facilities.

"It's a win-win situation," said Allen, a 1962 Douglass graduate.

Minorities consider Douglass the cornerstone of black education in Eden.

For a long time, Bell said, it was the only school black people in the city could call their own. Bell still holds on to her weathered graduation announcement and class ring — many of its details faded with the exception of her initials.

Backing the minority community are historic preservationists who say the effort to save Douglass and Draper is similar to an unsuccessful battle in the early 1990s to save the historic Leaksville-Spray Intermediate School.

"A lot of people still haven't gotten over the fact that that building came down," said Marianne Aiken, former chairwoman of the Eden Historic Preservation Commission.

The building that housed the Intermediate School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places — a prestigious designation but one with no teeth, Aiken said.

This time around, preservationists say they have something else on their side. In 2006, the city of Eden gave local landmark status to Draper and Douglass. That designation requires that any proposed changes be brought before the preservation commission, which has the power to delay demolition for up to a year.

Preservationists want the school board to seriously consider renovation. They have recommended a Winston-Salem architectural firm that specializes in renovating historic structures.

Architect David Appleyard Jr. conducted an informal walk-through of the schools at the request of the preservation commission. He told the board in March that the oldest structures of each of the schools are worthy of renovation.

New doesn't necessarily equal better, Aiken said, and there are ways of updating older facilities while preserving their integrity. It just requires a little creativity.

"I don't see why they can't think about alternatives," Aiken said of school board members. "What's wrong with thinking about other ways of doing it?"

School board member Steve Smith said he would like to see the board work with architects to save parts of Douglass, particularly the oldest portion that dates to the late 1930s and holds the most memories for former students.

But it all comes down to money, Smith said.

According to figures that Moseley architects presented to board members in March, it would cost $15.65 million to renovate Douglass; a new school would cost $14.54 million. The prices Moseley quoted for building a new Draper were also lower than renovating it.

"I think it's a matter of economics,'' Smith said. "We know we can save money by building two new schools as opposed to trying to renovate."

The No. 1 concern for teachers at the two schools, said Superintendent Rodney Shotwell, is the lack of space. At Douglass, there is a staff member who uses a corner of the auditorium as work space, he said.

Board member Reida Drum sympathizes with the community's feelings toward Douglass but also wants Draper and Douglass to have more advanced technological capabilities.

"I want to make sure that whatever we do over there is a safe structure for our students and that it is a structure that is 21st century," Drum said.

The school board is trying to arm itself with enough information to make a good decision — on Thursday the board visited a school in Lincoln County designed by the Matthews-based Pinnacle Architecture.

The idea, Shotwell said, is to get architectural examples for building quality schools with less money.

Chairwoman Elaine McCollum said the board won't be taking its decision lightly.

"I hope that we're able to make both sides understand that whatever we do is being done after considering all the facts," she said. "The whole key is doing what's best for the students and what we can afford to do."

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com