Schools small; benefits immeasurable

This letter is in reference to the county’s possible closing of Yancey, Red Hill and Scottsville elementary schools in favor of building one new and much larger school (“Consolidating southern schools would be wrong,” The Daily Progress).
As the principal architect responsible for the present design of the Red Hill and Scottsville schools, I wish to applaud the many reasons stated in the excellent letter to the published Sept. 20 for keeping the three schools open. As he maintained, the “smaller” school is simply a better place for community life, learning and teaching together, than the larger single school.
It is true that much of the argument in favor of the smaller school cannot be proven by statistical measurements and data gathering reports. How can one measure the advantage of walking to a neighborhood school against riding a bus 15 miles or more? Nonetheless, the intrinsic benefits of the smaller school can be felt by the dedicated teacher, the parent and the student.
A final point: The argument that one larger school is easier to maintain and will cost less than retaining the existing schools is certainly dubious and probably false. Furthermore, I am confident in asserting that the modest renovations to the existing schools will cost considerably less than building a new large building.
I applaud those seeking to keep their local schools. May they succeed in their efforts.

Robert Vickery
Charlottesville