Historic Roosevelt High construction to start in December. What about the history museum?

WEST PALM BEACH — It's a refrain that's all too familiar to alumni of West Palm Beach's historic Roosevelt High School: "Construction will start soon!"

Community members say they have lost track of the number of times they've been pitched a renovation project, construction plan or revitalization idea for the 5-acre campus, home to one of the county's first all-Black high schools, which opened in 1950.

But there may be cause for optimism once again: Palm Beach County School District leaders announced Aug. 23 that construction will begin on the first part of restoring Roosevelt this December. The news came as a relief to many and a cause for skepticism for some at a community meeting held at Roosevelt Middle School and hosted by school board member Edwin Ferguson.

From 2022: After decades of neglect, Roosevelt High revival finally underway with cost reaching beyond $40M

"We recognize the historical significance of the campus, and we want to bring it back: restore those facilities and put them back to good use," Superintendent Mike Burke said to a room of about 70 people.

Two phases of Roosevelt High School renovation: one certain, one up in the air

Phase 1 of the project, which has been fully funded by the school district's sales tax increase and an outside grant, includes renovating the high school's gymnasium and former electrical shop, and constructing a two-story building on the site.

The new and restored buildings will have classrooms and labs for the district's cosmetology program, an event space that's open to the public, a restored stage in the gymnasium and space for adult-education programs, the district's chief operating officer, Joseph Sanches, said Wednesday.

That phase of the project will be done and ready to open in June 2025, he said, and will cost $21 million. The school district last said it would begin construction in March of this year and open the campus in August 2024.

Phase 1 hasn't been the part of the project of most interest, or contention, to alumni, community members and parents. That's Phase 2, which includes a long-promised Black history museum and resource library.

Sanches and Burke didn't have great news on that front.

Phase 2 will no longer include a community grocery store or food co-op, Burke said. A health clinic proposed for the site has been moved across the street, he added. He didn't address whether it will include a public computer lab.

It was delayed this spring when the school district was uncertain about the number of students who would use the newly expanded state voucher program, siphoning dollars from the public school budget to pay tuition at private schools.

But now, the school district has two design options for Phase 2, which they presented Wednesday night.

Both options include creating a two-story museum building and resource library on the campus, but one option includes demolishing and rebuilding the high school on Tamarind Avenue. The other option proposes retaining the original façade and creating a building behind it.

While both options will take about 14 months to build, the first option of demolition will cost the district about $25 million. The second option that maintains the façade will cost $28 million and is the only option that the city of West Palm Beach's Historic Preservation Program will support, Sanches said.

More worrisome, Sanches emphasized, is the fact that the school district has no money yet for Phase 2. He said he can't give a potential start date for construction until there's a plan to fund the project.

'Very little' has been done on Roosevelt High School project, but there's cause for optimism

Most of the Roosevelt alumni and Black community leaders, many of whom have attended numerous meetings on Roosevelt's revitalization over the years, appeared to favor keeping the historic façade.

"I've been to several of these meetings and charrettes and plans that were going to be made and get done. But guess what? Nothing's gotten done. … Very little," John Clayton said. "This is the best meeting that I have attended."

Of the façade on Tamarind, Clayton said, "Do not tear that down. That's an entranceway into the old Roosevelt High School. That's history."

Some speakers criticized the school district for failing to fund both phases of the project. Others said they were under the impression that the school district's sales tax increase was funding the Black history library and museum.

"Money should not be an object (that's) preventing the school from being built," said Richard Ryles, an attorney and former West Palm Beach city commissioner. "Because we've built $90 million schools and here we're talking about a $20 million expenditure. It always seems as though we get what's left at the bottom of the barrel."

"Eight years is a hell of a long time to have to wait to get a project done in any community," he added. "I don't think if this was in Boca Raton that we would be waiting eight years."

Roosevelt High history dates back to 1916

Roosevelt High's history began a few blocks south of its campus at Tamarind and 15th Street with the opening of Industrial High in the 1916-17 school year. Industrial drew 2,000 students from Palm Beach and Martin county high schools to the county's first Black high school.

In 1950, Roosevelt opened as Industrial's replacement — some of Industrial's buildings are now part of U.B. Kinsey/ Palmview Elementary.

By the time Roosevelt opened with 29 employees and 539 students, it was one of two Black high schools in the county — the other was Carver High in Delray Beach.

Despite opening without a full complement of furniture and shelves of hand-me-down books from the all-white Palm Beach High, the school went on to produce an impressive list of alumni who made their marks in business, politics and community academics.

Its athletes were also revered, among them, the Maroon Devils basketball team. In 1968, the team became the first from the area to win the state basketball title and the first Black school to play white schools in the state playoffs.

Two years later, however, the team and its school were no more.

Integration in 1970 brought the merger of the city's two high schools. Black Roosevelt High and white Palm Beach High were combined on Palm Beach's campus to form Twin Lakes High.

The old Roosevelt campus housed middle schoolers until a new Roosevelt Middle was built next door in 1995. The property eventually became Roosevelt Full Service Center, a hub for social services and alternative school programs until those alternative programs also moved out.

Now, most in the community want to see the school district make good on its promises.

"Historic Roosevelt is like a family member to many people in this community," Ryles said Wednesday.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Construction to start at historic Roosevelt High School in West Palm Beach