To the editor:

The City Council, during its first meeting of the new year, voted to spend more than $100,000 to secure two old, unneeded school buildings (the former Southwestern Elementary School and the former Nansemond County Training School).

If the city has no use for these old school buildings, City Council should have spent this $100,000 to tear them down. If the buildings were demolished, they would not need fencing or other annual expenses simply to keep them maintained.

Taxpayers have saved three old school buildings now. We have saved two buildings downtown and one in Whaleyville — at a cost of several millions of dollars apiece. We cannot afford to waste any more money by saving these two old buildings.

The city of Portsmouth just faced the same decision. Wilson, Norcom and Cradock high schools were torn down, even as small groups wanted to save them at taxpayers’ expense. Portsmouth made the right decision.

William H. Harward

Suffolk