.jpg)
BV Schools Facilities Group Begins Work
Steps are being taken that could lead to Buena Vista holding a referendum in November of 2025 on whether the city should invest in a major school capital project.
Mayor Tyson Cooper offered this vision last week for what he hopes will transpire in the next 18 months. He was speaking during the initial meeting last Tuesday, May 28, of the Joint City Council and School Board School Facilities Committee.
“It’s time to be doing something significant for the [school] facilities,” said Tyson, noting that he is the father of six children now attending the Buena Vista schools. “We have to work together on this,” he remarked, in reference to the joint committee being composed of members of both City Council and the School Board.
Serving on the committee are School Board members John Roberts and Wayne Flint and City Council members Michelle Poluikis and Ron Cash. At last week’s meeting Roberts was elected chair and Poluikis vice chair. Cash was absent.
Cooper said he and School Board chair Teresa Ellison have had probably a dozen conversations on the need to move forward with a capital project for the schools. He pointed out that the last major project, the “new” Parry McCluer High School, was completed 23 years ago and the last payment on it made two years ago.
“We want to look 10 years into the future,” said Cooper. “What will enrollment look like? How many classrooms will we need and what other facilities do we want? Whatever we do, our demographics will dictate it. We want to take a comprehensive view of all of our facilities. What are our strengths and weaknesses? How are we using them? We want to set us up for success for 20 years from now. Do your best to forecast your needs for 20 years.”
The mayor said he’d like to see a proposal from the committee by next March. “We want a plan to address our needs and estimate the costs. Will we be building a new facility or will we be consolidating schools? Whatever we do is going to cost a significant amount of money. We want to get it on the ballot [through a referendum] in November of 2025. We want the citizens to vote on this. [If it’s approved] we would start construction in 2026 or 2027.”
“I think it sounds great,” said Poluikis, who asked what needs to be done next to proceed with these plans.
Dr. Tony Francis, superintendent of schools, suggested contracting with the Weldon Cooper for Public Service at the University of Virginia to do a study of enrollment projections for the division. “There are a lot of factors to take into account – not just birth rates.” The division presently has about 800 students. In looking at what the division’s future facility needs are, planners need to know what projected enrollment will be in 10 or 20 years down the road.
Actually, Francis continued, “We need to do a comprehensive assessment of everything – an overview of what we’re projecting – our needs and costs. What are our options – renovations verses building a new facility? We need to ask the questions and start the discussions. We could do an RFP [request for proposals].”
Francis pointed out that a limited facilities feasibility study was conducted a few years ago at a cost of $25,000. He envisions doing a more comprehensive study now that might cost $50,000 or more. He estimated that an enrollment study by the Weldon Cooper Center would cost $10,000. He suggested putting out RFPs for these studies by July.
From a comprehensive facilities study, the committee could learn what the options are and what the estimated costs might be, said Francis.
Roberts said the division has a capital improvements plan in place but that plan doesn’t include doing anything about the oldest facility, Parry McCluer Middle School, in which the original structure is nearly a century old.
Tom Roberts, the city’s director of community development who was attending the meeting, suggested that if it’s determined that PMMS is to be vacated by the schools at some point in the future, a plan needs to be made for what to do with the building – whether it’s a historic repurpose of the building or something else.
The limited facilities study that was conducted a few years ago prompted a construction firm and architectural company to submit an unsolicited proposal under the Public/Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act.
This 2021 proposal by English Construction of Lynchburg and RRMM Architects of Roanoke called for constructing a new 99,500-square-foot building on land adjacent to the existing PMHS. Under this proposal, the new facility would have replaced the existing two elementary schools and middle school. It had an estimated price tag of $36 million.
The consensus of committee members present at last week’s meeting was to have Francis and City Manager Jason Tyree draft RFPs for the comprehensive facilities and enrollment studies to present at the committee’s next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, at 6 p.m., in the Ramsey Center.
