In January of this year, the Richmond County Board of Education made the wise business decision to sell a number of surplus properties, and to invest the proceeds in the education of our children. Included in the list of properties were four historically significant school buildings -- the old John S. Davidson School on Telfair Street; Martha Lester School on Broad Street; A. C. Griggs School on Grand Boulevard; and the old Sue Reynolds School on Wrightsboro Road.

These four buildings, designed by notable architects and built in 1933 and 1934, are all of architectural significance, and are irreplaceable. Davidson occupies a key location in the Downtown Historic District, and Martha Lester is in the Harrisburg-West End Historic District. Sue Reynolds and A.C. Griggs individually would qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

ALL FOUR BUILDINGS feature design, craftsmanship and materials that cannot be found today. Three of the buildings are in good condition and could easily be put to new uses, while even Davidson, which has suffered severe deterioration has value because of the considerable tax credits available to such a building.

These beautiful buildings are not only culturally important, but also are of great economic value to all of us. Augusta's historic neighborhoods are its favorite neighborhoods, and they are Augusta's competitive advantage with respect to other communities. And it is buildings such as these schools that give our city its charm and desirability. If the schools are appropriately restored and put into service by subsequent owners they can add to the vitality of their neighborhoods and to all of Augusta. If these buildings are lost, by being destroyed or defaced, then all Augustans will be poorer for that loss.

SINCE LEARNING of the plans to dispose of the schools, Historic Augusta Inc. has offered to help the board of education find buyers who would pay a fair price to the board; would preserve these buildings; and would put them to productive use. Our organization and others like it have a long history of success in such efforts. Specifically, we have asked for an option for six months to buy the schools at their appraised values, during which time we will market the properties using established sales networks to expose them to preservation-oriented buyers throughout the nation. These prospective buyers would purchase the properties subject to preservation easements, and Historic Augusta would work with them to take advantage of the many tax benefits available for qualified renovations. We firmly believe that we could sell the buildings at higher prices than can be obtained on the local market, and we would turn over all net proceeds to the board. Historic Augusta's services would be provided at no charge.

AT A RECENT meeting, the board voted to sell the buildings on its own and made no provision for requiring that the buildings be preserved by their buyers. There is a very real danger that some or all might be lost. However, even if the board is determined to proceed on its own, the buildings could still be protected by another simple procedure commonly used in such situations -- the board could require that buyers consent to "preservation easements" guaranteeing that the buildings not be demolished or unreasonably altered.

I ask that those citizens who love these fine old buildings, and who believe that such buildings are vitally important to Augusta's economy, to please contact their school board representatives, and ask them to work with Historic Augusta to preserve these historic schools. Contact information for board members may be found at their Web site, rcboe.org.