The Williamsburg-James City County School Board will have to wait two weeks to find out which fourth middle school option – and cost — James City County will support.
The school board, James City County Board of Supervisors and Williamsburg City Council gathered Tuesday afternoon for a joint work session to discuss big-ticket items in the schools’ proposed fiscal year 2015 budget, which includes a new middle school and central office. The schools CFO Terry Stone presented slide shows to the government leaders detailing costs the school is facing with the new school and office, and some supervisors said they were hearing the information for the first time.
Due to unfamiliarity with the new school options and several outstanding questions, Supervisor Mary Jones requested an additional two weeks to review information before making a decision.
At the March 4 school board meeting, Superintendent Steven Constantino presented four new middle school options, all of which used the existing James Blair site and ranged in cost from $28 million to $42.2 million. The information about four possible schools on the site was presented to the supervisors and council members Tuesday.
If James Blair is used as a school site, the school board and central office would need to relocate to another office, which WJCC estimates could be built for $9.7 million on current city- and county- owned land near the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse.
The school options and possible central office relocation concerned Supervisor Jim Kennedy (Stonehouse), who questioned the step backward the school board seemed to take in reconsidering James Blair as a school site. Kennedy also said the request for a new central office went against information discussed at a county meeting in December.
Over the past several months, the city and county planning offices compiled future growth information into a map, which showed growth in all areas but led Constantino to support a centrally located school site. The new information brought James Blair back into focus, as it is the only property the schools currently own that is not too far to one edge of the district.
If the county wants to see another school site, it will have to locate and purchase the land before passing it on to the schools, said school board member Ruth Larson (Berkeley).
Supervisor Mary Jones (Berkeley) was the only supervisor to express a firm opinion about the fourth middle school during the meeting. While she did not indicate a preference for one of the presented options, she said she fully supported reusing the James Blair site for the new middle school.
In December, school staff sat down with the county’s Planning Commission Policy Committee to discuss funding needs in the upcoming budget cycle. At the time, school staff said a new central office was not being considered and James Blair would remain the central office location for the time being. Initially, however, the schools had submitted a request for $8.25 million for a new central office and $40 million for a new middle school.
Based on that December discussion, the committee ranked priority projects for the county’s 2015 budget cycle and included the middle school.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Jim Kennedy (Stonehouse) said the county’s planning commissioners felt they had been misled and may have ranked the school project differently if they had been told central office funding would be needed.
Stone said the schools put forward its initial funding request in August or September, which was months before Superintendent Steven Constantino proposing the schools’ budget.
“I want to state strongly that we never wanted to mislead anyone,” Larson said. “I don’t feel an apology is needed for this school division to conduct its business for this county and city.”
Supervisor Kevin Onizuk (Jamestown) and Councilman Douglas Pons wanted to look at expanding existing middle schools to accommodate more students.
Constantino said the middle school committee researched expansion options, but took education needs under consideration and said capacity should be increased in the right way. The supervisors and council members were given a report detailing the committee’s decision, but it was not discussed Tuesday.
The committee report showed middle school additions would come at an estimated $13.2 million, with the majority spent to expand Toano Middle School. The downsides to expansion were a lack of room for future growth, additional administration costs, redistricting and an inability to meet future learning needs.
If a new middle school is constructed, Constantino wants it to be a 21st century learning facility designed to meet learning needs of all students, including alternative learning students. It could be a school focused on science, technology, engineering and math, or one focused on the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.
James City County’s supervisors left the meeting Tuesday with the intention of talking to county staff about funding needed for the new school and central office. The supervisors also wanted to look into rental or rent-to-own options for the central office. Jones directed supervisors to speak with county staff and school board members prior to their regularly-scheduled March 25 meeting. During the meeting, the supervisors will discuss funding for the new school.
Constantino hoped the school board would vote on his proposed budget at its March 18 meeting. A special meeting could be scheduled after the Board of Supervisors’ March 25 meeting to give the school board time to take the county’s support into consideration.
Related Coverage:
- James Blair Still Recommended as Site for Fourth WJCC Middle School
- WJCC Superintendent’s Proposed Budget Gives Raise to Employees, Hires 16 Teachers
- WJCC to Wait on Population Projections Before Creating New Plan for Fourth Middle School
- JCC Committee Includes Fourth Middle School in List of Priority Projects
- WJCC Schools Plan to Keep James Blair as Office Space – For Now
- WJCC Board Asked to Delay Decision on Fourth Middle School for Further Planning
- City, JCC Outline Growth Areas to Help Determine Fourth Middle School Location
- WJCC Schools Seeking Public Input on Fourth Middle School
- WJCC Superintendent: Fourth Middle School Likely on James Blair Site
- WJCC Committee Has Started Researching Middle School Options
