The History Behind Bonita Springs Elementary
The Bonita Springs School was constructed in 1921 by Harvey Heitmen when the town was still just a small fishing village. The original one-story, brick building had only three rooms and taught grades k-12. It did not have electricity, but to the delight of the students and staff, it did have plumbing. A fence was constructed around the school, as shown in the photos above, to keep the free-ranging cattle that roamed the area off of the property. In 1927, the school expanded by adding a separate, two-story building and auditorium. In 1940, the structures were united. Around 1948, the school added a lunchroom with a kitchen.
Today, Bonita Springs Elementary is the only building on the National Historic Registry. Unfortunately, it may not be there for much longer.
The School District of Lee County has marked the historic buildings for demolition, which could start as early as this summer.
“Demolition By Neglect” How This Historically Preserved Building Was Marked for Demolition
How did this historic building become so irreparable? Community leaders, some of which that would prefer to remain nameless, blame the school district. Simply put, the school district deferred maintenance, let the property fall into disarray and now claims that it is unsalvageable. Alan Glazier, Chairman of the Bonita Springs Historic Preservation Board, refers to this as “demolition by neglect.”
The historic building has sat vacant since the roof collapsed during Hurricane Irma. Though the roof was repaired but ADG Architecture still deemed the building “unsafe” four years ago. The building has been left vacant and uncared for ever since, aside from a paint job in 2022. Termites have been said to have infested the building without remediation.
The school currently operates out a couple of the newer buildings and portable trailers that were put on the property.
Design proposals and bids are currently being reviewed by the Lee County School Board, including one from ADG Architecture.
The City vs. The School District
The school is owned by the Lee County School District, giving the City a limited say in the plans. The city first became aware of the plans to renovate the school last summer. The city wrote the following letter to Chairman Sam Fisher of the Lee County Schoolboard on June 21st:
The City sent another letter on October 4th:
The District responded with the following letter in November:
The Bonita Springs Historical Society, residents of Bonita Springs, and many council members would love to see at least some of the original building be preserved and incorporated into the design. It seems as though the county would consider it but for a charge. The estimated cost of completely demolishing the school and rebuilding an entirely new school is $40 million.
However, the estimate jumps a steep $10 million when the project involves saving the historic building. The district “suggested” that the City assume the cost, knowing it would be roughly half of the City’s ad volorem taken in annually. District 2 representative Jesse Purdon feels that the School District should not be asking the City for money to help with the project. After all, the school is owned by the school district, not the City. Not to mention, the school district is responsible for letting the property fall into disarray.
At a City Council meeting earlier this month, council members announced that they had secured a meeting with the Lee County School District on February 14th. This meeting is private. We called the school board to see what time the meeting would be held and were told that they could not disclose that information. We suspect that a demonstration to save the school may be anticipated and details have been kept for that reason.
Our Take
Like many long-time residents, Bonita Springs Elementary holds a special place in our hearts. John Paul went to school there and his mother was a substitute teacher there for decades. We bought our house in Bonita Springs just a block away from the school with the hopes of one day walking our young daughter to the same elementary school that her daddy went to.
We support the growth of Bonita Springs and welcome all of the incredible new businesses that have been flocking to the area. However, we do not want to see this city lose the “small town charm” that is part of its slogan. It is a slippery slope from a small town to an overdeveloped city. Preserving history is a HUGE part of maintaining that charm. If we throw away the only building in our city that is on the National Historic Registry, what’s next?
That being said, as parents especially, we want what is best for our children. Everyone can agree that the children of Bonita Springs Elementary deserve better. The vacant, termite-infested buildings and portable trailers that students are learning in are inexcusable.
We believe that we can accomplish both goals by simply incorporating the facade along Dean Street and Pullen Avenue into the new design.
The Bonita Springs Historical Society has created a petition to help save this historic building. We have signed and we encourage you to do so as well!
Sign The Petition to Save Bonita Springs Elementary
City Council will have more details after the meeting on February 14th that will likely be shared at the February 19th City Council meeting. We will be attending and will keep you up to date on this controversial project. To be the first to know new details, subscribe to our 8-year running local newsletter!
