As much as Lawrence likes to be on the cutting edge, school district officials are right to ask themselves whether a proposed design for a new South Junior High School is “too far out.”

The last thing Lawrence taxpayers want is to have one mistake replaced by another mistake.

The current South Junior High building was considered innovative and modern when it was constructed in the 1960s. Forty years later, however, it became a white elephant, unable to serve the needs of students and teachers and incapable of being remodeled to correct the flaws.

Teachers and administrators have been involved in developing plans for the new school, and many of the problems with the current school have been eliminated in the new design. The circular layout that made it impossible to properly monitor hallways is gone. Efforts have been made to provide natural lighting, sorely lacking in the current building.

It also appears the architects are trying to build in some flexibility through the use of movable classroom doors and movable walls. One way to avoid unexpected pitfalls is to try to design a building that can be modified if it fails to meet the needs of teachers and students.

Descriptions of the preliminary designs being discussed actually sound fresh and exciting, and the plans respond to many concerns and desires of SJHS teachers. Innovation isn’t a bad thing, but given the district’s experience with the current school building, officials need to make sure the design also is practical and has a reasonable chance of serving the needs of students for several generations. It is hoped the architects and consultants have the students, teachers, parents and taxpayers foremost in their thinking and planning rather than trying to design and build a facility to impress other architects.