Newton Mayors Viewpoint On Chris Bartons Proposal To Buy 2 Newton Elementary Schools

A couple weeks ago Newton business man Chris Barton proposed to The Newton School Board the idea of purchaseing two, unused elementary schools, Emerson Hough and Woodrow Wilson for $25,000 per school and giving them back to the community. Woodrow Wilson would go to The Newton Christian School and Emerson Hough would go to The Newton YMCA for day care. On a 4-3 vote the School Board approved looking into the proposal from Barton and will decide on the matter at a later date. The Mayor of Newton, Randy Ervin reached out to me because he wanted to express his opinion on Bartons provposal. He is totally in favor of the idea and thinks it's a win for the city. You will hear why he thinks it's a good idea in this podcast. I am also a proponent of the idea because I am a fan of The Newton Community Theatre for sentimental reasons. My dad, along with others, got The Community Theatre started in the early 60s. The Newton YMCA has wanted to take over the space being used by the theatre for a few years now for daycare. The theatre has looked at other locations like DMACC and The Centre For Performance at The High School but they haven't been considered a good fit they don't have the storage for costumes and sets that the current location has. With Emerson Hough school this gives the YMCA a great location for expanded day care. My opinion is that this community needs both a strong Community Theatre and strong YMCA with a quality expanded day care. This proposal does both. If you have an opposing opinion please and would like time on my podcast please email me at [email protected] [email protected] or [email protected] and I'll be glad to give you or others time on my podcast.