On the corner of 1st Avenue and Muscatine, Hoover Elementary becomes less and less recognizable as construction workers continue to work on transforming the elementary school into additional parking and tennis courts. 

Response from the community has been mixed since the plans for the destruction of Hoover was released. A committee formed to attempt to save Hoover from being destroyed in mid-2017. 

The Save Hoover Committee asked candidates running for School Board in 2017, “If you are elected, will you support amending the long-term facilities plan to keep Hoover Elementary School open?” 

The Save Hoover Committee decorated lawns in the Hoover neighborhood with Red and White ‘Save Hoover’ Signs. While the committee was avid in keeping the elementaries doors open to elementary schools, other members of the community felt differently. 

“You need City High to have space to remain competitive and on-par with the other high schools in our district, and so the only way to do that is for it to have the space to expand,” said Janet Godwin while running for school board in 2017. 

Candidates running for school board were split on deciding to turn the space into parking lots and tennis courts for City High, or siding with Save Hoover in keeping Hoover’s doors open to the public. 

Reactions from the City High student body were mixed as well.

“The school was an old school with many issues, the gym was tiny, the heat and air conditioning were spotty, and the library doubled as an auditorium. I liked the playground though,” said Kate Meis ‘25.

Some students remained neutral on Hoover getting torn down and didn’t have an opinion one way or the other.

“More parking sounds good but I don’t really mind what happens, I thought it was going to be a golf course to be honest” said Wisdom Konu ‘24