A 15-person committee will study the middle school and office space needs for Williamsburg-James City County Schools next spring.
The WJCC School Board unanimously approved Superintendent Steven Constantino’s plan to appoint the committee at its Tuesday meeting.
Constantino recommends the 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.
Before approving the plan, board member Heather Cordasco suggested the committee expand to include one additional representative from the business community. When she made the same suggestion last week, Constantino said 15 people seemed like the right amount before it would become cumbersome.
After discussion, the members agreed the committee can consult with additional businesspeople, as it will also consult with architects and engineers as needed. Constantino doesn’t anticipate the committee members will be selected through an application process, but recommended that anyone interested in serving contact school principals or the Central Office.
The committee will examine whether the former James Blair Middle School property, now serving as a Central Office, could be an appropriate site to build a new middle school, be reconfigured to meet the needs of future middle schoolers or could meet the needs of both students and the administration.
The study committee is expected to then recommend up to three options. Each option will have to meet 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 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.
