PARMA, Ohio — The final days are here for Parma Senior High School.
“There’s a lot of memories here and that’s what’s very sad,” said Karen Gundling, an alum of Parma Senior High School. “We hate to see it go.”
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Karen Gundling tells News 5 the building represents a steppingstone into her future, and she will miss its memories, including the iconic bell tower.
“I had a feeling they may be starting on the tower, so I wanted to get a brick,” said Gundling. “It’s no longer in that wall. It’s going to be in mine.”
Gundling says she never expected to see this day, which is why she and others like Elizabeth Pagan say it’s difficult to accept.
“To me, it was hope. You know, to bring children in, get them out of the street,” said Elizabeth Pagan, who lives directly across the street from Parma Senior High School.
“I pray that something goes up there. But I wish they never tore it down. You know it’s a memory of my three kids, so it’s sad.”
Superintendent Dr. Charles Smialek says the district did not want to make this decision.
He even says the district heard from groups petitioning to stop the demolition and look into renovating versus rebuilding.
But, Smialek says it all came down to costs.
“None of us went into education to close and demolish buildings but at the same time, this is absolutely a step forward in terms of fiscal responsibility, and we’re saving $3.2 million per year through the consolidation that we went through,” said Dr. Charles Smialek.
Smialek does not know when the demolition will be completed.
However, once it’s done, he hopes to partner with the city to come up with recreational opportunities so the vacant area doesn’t become an eyesore.
“That property could potentially be one day still the sight of one high school if that’s what the community decides what we would want. There is no current master plan. We’ve run through two different master plans and failed at the ballot box, so right now, we’re living with the footprint we have and making Valley Forge and Normandy the best possible high schools they can be,” said Smialek.
Now that the demolition has begun, Parma City School District’s Board of Education has moved to Parma Park Elementary School, where business will resume.
