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The joint School Board–City Council Facilities Committee is preparing to recommend that Buena Vista build a new pre-K through seventh-grade school near the high school, a project expected to cost tens of millions of dollars.
At a committee meeting last Wednesday, officials said the plan represents the best long-term financial and educational decision for the city’s schools, while acknowledging the challenges ahead, including securing state funding and convincing taxpayers to support the effort.
The committee reviewed financial projections, school infrastructure conditions and funding opportunities with engineers from Energy Systems Group (ESG), who had presented them with results from a feasibility study last month. The latest meeting involved updated assumptions for each potential option, which included a bare-bones renovation option, as well as laying out the consequences of doing nothing. The assumptions clearly pointed to a new, comprehensive school building being the smartest choice.
If approved, the project would consolidate multiple schools into a single, modern facility, improving efficiency, security, and the overall learning environment. Superintendent Tony Francis was blunt about the alternative: “Do nothing is still an option — but not really an option.”
A key factor driving urgency is the availability of a 30 percent state grant that could significantly offset costs. However, the city must commit to the project before applying for the funding, and the application deadline is in the 20262027 fiscal year.
“We have that now,” Francis said, emphasizing that delaying the project could mean missing out on millions of dollars in state assistance.
City Council member Ronald Cash underscored the stakes of the upcoming referendum: “Citizens have to understand that a no vote on one thing is a yes vote on something else.”
That “something else” could be higher costs down the road, continued facility deterioration, and the eventual possibility of Buena Vista’s school system merging with the county. Officials pointed to other Virginia localities that had lost their independent school divisions due to financial constraints. Martinsville City Schools, for instance, had planned to consolidate with the county but found themselves blocked by legislative complications.
While officials have yet to finalize the full financial breakdown, they acknowledged that taxpayer concerns will play a major role in determining whether the project moves forward.
“They need to know what it would cost them. On average, what it would cost them a month,” City Council member Michelle Poluikis said.
To address this, the committee plans to have the city’s finance director, Steve Bolster, analyze the cost per household, with the goal of making the numbers more accessible to the public.
ESG officials warned that delaying school construction could lead to higher costs in the future, particularly as existing facilities continue to deteriorate. The high school’s infrastructure, and in particular its control and HVAC system, is reaching the end of its life.
The consultant leading the financial presentation highlighted the school’s Energy Utilization Index (EUI), a measure of energy efficiency, and gave a grim assessment: “If this was a grade, you would get a D.”
The HVAC system is a major concern. Its control systems are failing, and the high school risks losing its chiller, which could render the building unusable in the hotter months. If it breaks down, a temporary chiller would need to be trucked in at a cost of $250,000 to $300,000, a stopgap measure that does nothing to address the long-term problem.
Officials also warned of broader economic risks, with one committee member cautioning that tariffs and inflation could drive construction costs even higher if the city waits too long to act.
The facilities committee’s long-term vision includes two major infrastructure projects: the new pre-K through seventh-grade school, which would consolidate elementary and middle school students into a single, state-of-the-art facility; and high school infrastructure upgrades, particularly HVAC replacements and energy efficiency improvements, with some of the savings from reduced energy costs helping to offset the expenses.
These projects are intended to prevent Buena Vista from falling into the kind of prolonged school facility crisis that other districts have experienced.
As the committee prepares to bring the proposal before the full School Board and City Council, they are also considering ways to make the project more appealing to the broader community.
One suggestion, raised by Cash, was to add a community- focused feature, such as a fitness center, pickleball courts, or a community center that residents could use after school hours.
“I think the fitness center would probably be easiest,” Francis said, noting that Pulaski County had done something similar with a recent school construction project.
The committee aims to finalize a written master plan by the end of February and present it to both governing bodies. A joint City Council– School Board meeting is planned for March 12 to further discuss the plan. Officials hope to petition the court by early June to call for a referendum in November.
At the heart of the debate is the future of Buena Vista’s education system.
“The best that BV has to offer is our schools,” Poluikis said, emphasizing the critical role schools play in the community.
Francis also pointed out that small school divisions like Buena Vista were among the fastest to recover from COVID-19—a testament to the importance of maintaining local control and high-quality facilities.
If the referendum fails, officials warn that Buena Vista could face higher costs, deteriorating infrastructure, and even the possibility of losing its independent school system altogether. -At City Council’s meeting on Thursday, Cash noted that the city could be looking at spending as much as $60 million to build a new pre-k through grade 7 school and make the necessary upgrade to PMHS.
While undertaking such as expensive capital project would be “painful,” even “crippling” for the city’s taxpayers, not doing anything could be even more costly, he contended.
“I personally feel Buena Vista cannot afford not to do this,” Cash declared. “Any delay will make the costs go higher. … We’re up against the wall now. I can’t imagine anything more important than our children.”
Melvin Henson pointed out that the city has another mighty expensive project coming up – a $35 million upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant.
