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I agree about the age of the building really is not an issue here -- there are plenty of elementary schools in my area that are 70+ years old.
I understand if parents don't want to send their kids back to that building. I understand if they want to tear it down and build new, and even approve as long as the expenses are borne locally. Some posters here, however, have suggest that the age of the school supports the decision. I disagree with that. I also think $57 million for a primary school for 450 kids sounds excessive, especially when they already own the property.
I agree about the age of the building really is not an issue here -- there are plenty of elementary schools in my area that are 70+ years old.
But do we really expect another crop of first graders to sit in a classroom and learn, knowing that a gunman came through THAT doorway, and THAT corner is where they were all gunned down? Of course not! Adults, maybe, but not 6-year-olds!
If the school were to continue as a school (or any other purpose, really) the classrooms where the shooting took place shouldn't be used for anything but storage. If they want to tear it down and build new, that's up to them.
Do you think these kids will sit in a new school sitting on the same property and not think the same thing? Maybe they should post armed guards to make the kids feel safe because I don't know what else really would. A new building on the same ground sure won't.
I wonder why they didn't tear down Columbine? Maybe close Elm street in Dallas?
Because elementary kids are different than high school kids. We're talking about kids too young to process this. They need a fresh start. However, I would have supported tearing down Columbine as well but the community chose not to. That is their decision as they are the ones living with the aftermath. This is not our call because we are not living it.
It is stupid to tear it down. Millions of tax dollars wasted on that. Patch up the bullet holes, mop up the blood and reopen as quickly as possible. If they had done that and not allowed people to stand around and brood over it for months, they would not have to tear it down. They didn't tear down the theatres in Denver or the high school in Columbine or the Hyatt Hotel in Kansas City did they?
Colombine got a very large remodel right after the shooting, completely changing the floorplan in the "kill zone" of the school and moving the library, where most of the victims were killed.
We don't want to upset kids after all... hiding the realities of a violent world so they can have peace of mind and then go play Call of Duty or watch the latest Hollywood shoot-em-up flick.
What a huge waste of money. People are so stupid sometimes.
20yrsinBranson
Your compassion is refreshing. It's good to read a post from someone who's been through something so tragic, that can be empathetic, open-minded and non-judgemental. I've noticed a lot of your posts reflect this similar warmth, understanding, open-minded compassion. Makes me so proud to be an American sometimes. I feel like singing the Star Spangled Banner all of a sudden.
Because elementary kids are different than high school kids. We're talking about kids too young to process this. They need a fresh start. However, I would have supported tearing down Columbine as well but the community chose not to. That is their decision as they are the ones living with the aftermath. This is not our call because we are not living it.
Kids are very resilient. What happens is adult place their own insecurities and fears in place of what the kids are actually experiencing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.
Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?
For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.
But after the grief and fear fades, psychiatrists say most of Newtown's young survivors probably will cope without long-term emotional problems.
"Kids do tend to be highly resilient," said Dr. Matthew Biel, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
It is up to those paying for this. If they wanted to replace for whatever reason that's up to them as long as they are footing the bill but the kids were unlikely to be traumatized by returning to the school.
They must be planning on using union labor. It said it wouldn't be ready until '16 so that seals the deal for the union boys. They can sit around and piddle along for three years. Yippee.
the below is obviously a typo... maybe they meant 5.7 million. Sandy Hook only had 600 kids. My County school system just built a high school for 1,200 kids and it only cost 12 million if i remember correctly.
It's not a typo. The New York Times reported that two sites were being considered, and "Each would cost between $42 million and $47 million, with the state and federal governments expected to pick up the cost." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/ny...tary.html?_r=0
School construction is VERY expensive and it's hard to understand such a ridiculous waste of money. If you really wanted to spend $45 million or so, why not award full college scholarships to families with children in that school system?
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I feel like singing the Star Spangled Banner all of a sudden. 
