Williamsburg-James City County Schools Superintendent Steve Constantino will propose forming a committee to determine the future of James Blair Middle School at the School Board’s meeting tonight.
His proposal comes two months after James City County Board Chair John McGlennon proposed a working group, composed of County Administrator Bob Middaugh, City Manager Jack Tuttle and Constantino, work to create a shared vision for the future of the school building, which currently houses the WJCC school administration.
At their last meeting, the School Board members were unclear on what the goals of the county’s working group would be, but said it was clear that the division needs to do a study of administrative space needs, a consideration of the future needs of students and the feasibility and costs that would be associated with possibly reopening James Blair as a middle school.
Tonight, Constantino will propose that he provide a detailed needs analysis of the Central Office space requirements at the Dec. 4 School Board work session. He recommends the board vote on the proposed space needs document at its January meeting.
To determine the future middle school needs, Constantino will suggest establishing a study committee charged with reviewing the future educational needs of middle school students (including enrollment projections and capacities) and reviewing the possible future uses of James Blair.
The committee would examine whether the property could be an appropriate site to build a new middle school; the existing building could be reconfigured to meet the needs of future middle schoolers; or if the existing building could meet the needs of both students and the administration.
The study committee would then recommend up to three options. Each option would have to focus on meeting the future learning needs of students and resolving future housing issues; ensure the recommendations conform to the projections in the Capital Improvement Plan and are fiscally responsible; and consider the space needs for the School Board/Central Office complex.
Constantino recommends the 15-person committee include the Senior Director for Operations; one school board member; one representative from the Business & Community Advisory Committee; one representative from the Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee; three parents of students who will be middle school-aged by 2017; two core subject-area coordinators; one middle school principal; and five middle school teachers representing core and co-curricular areas.
Constantino aims to have a recommendation, including a proposal for middle school housing and a proposal for the office needs, for the school board in time for the June 2013 work session, with the board making a decision by August 2013.
WJCC’s three middle schools are expected to meet full capacity by 2017, but Berkeley Middle School is already over capacity. When the county, city and school division agreed to move forward with plans to construct Lois Hornsby Middle School, it was expected a fourth middle school would be needed.
But by the time construction was underway in 2009, it was clear the existing enrollment didn’t yet merit four middle schools and the division also couldn’t afford costs to make necessary repairs to James Blair, which also costs more than $2 million to run. Instead, the school board approved a plan to close the school and convert its rooms into offices for the administration, which at the time had been renting office space and using the now-demolished Building C at the County Complex.
It could cost up to $6 million to refurbish and renovate James Blair, plus an additional $2.2 million to operate a fourth middle school, according to an estimate provided to the board in 2011 (read more here).
In March, Constantino presented his vision for a fourth middle school that would be built on the same property occupied by James Blair. He proposed replacing a line item for a central office in the Capital Improvements Plan with $33.6 million to build a fourth middle school on the same property by 2017.
He told the leaders at a joint budget meeting it was an opportunity to build a “unique, forward-thinking” school with the flexibility to fit individual students, and could possibly be a charter school, offer virtual learning classes for high schoolers in the evenings or have dedicated space for adult education and English language classes. Read more about his March presentation here.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. in the Stryker Building in Williamsburg. Find the agenda here.
