by Hunter Dawkins
Last Friday, Long Beach Mayor George Bass and other city leaders toured Long Beach High School, a facility they say is in desperate need of an upgrade. Voters will go to the polls on August 2 in that city this summer to decide on a $20 million bond issue that would start the process toward a new high school. There will need to be 60% of the residents to approve the amount.
“I realized that this school is 60 years old this year,” Bass said. “That’s not acceptable folks. The school was originally built in 1958, and there are exactly 47 entry points on campus.” Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seal said the amount of entry points make the current security situation frightening for him and his staff. “It’s a nightmare,” said Seal. “There’s no way to control who comes on this campus and who does not.”
In 2005, a bond issue for a new high school failed. “We need to do something to protect our children, and that’s what this effort is for,” Bass added. “The protection of our children and providing them with the newest technology to live with and to give them updated facilities. They’re lacking that right now.”
