The Chesterfield County School Board received the Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2011-2015 during its meeting last night. The Capital Improvement Program is the school system’s master plan for building and maintaining facilities. The School Board reviews the CIP annually and sends the plan to the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors for funding approval.
The first year of the plan (FY 2011) is the final year of the 2004 bond, which was supported by 87 percent of voters. That bond built five schools and renovated or expanded 13 schools. Scheduled for FY 2011 are the last projects covered by that bond: $4.5 million for renovations at Watkins Elementary and $12 million for renovations at Midlothian High.
Economic challenges that are affecting school systems and localities across the country have led to significant changes between the CIP proposed last night and the CIP adopted last year.
- A new elementary school, which would have opened in 2015, and a new high school, which would have opened in 2016, are not in the proposed CIP. Funding previously allocated for that new elementary school is shifted to additions and renovations at existing elementary schools to provide capacity and much-needed updates.
- Renovating the current Clover Hill High building to prepare for a 21st-century academy is proposed. (Included in the 2004 bond and scheduled to open in the fall of 2010, a replacement building for Clover Hill High is under construction.) The 21st-century academy would offer high school students from across the county opportunities in career and technical education, self-paced online learning and connections with local businesses.
- To ease student crowding at Thomas Dale High School and effectively use existing capacity in middle schools, there is a proposal to shift ninth-grade students to the current Chester Middle building. At the end of the current school year, Chester Middle would close as a
middle school and its students would move to Carver Middle and Elizabeth Davis Middle.
In a Dec. 8 letter to parents, School Board Chair Marshall Trammell Jr. wrote, “Moving Thomas Dale’s ninth-grade class to the existing Chester Middle building allows us to ensure that the schools involved in this proposal (Thomas Dale High, Carver Middle and Elizabeth Davis Middle) are used in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Housing grades 10-12 in the existing Thomas Dale facility means the building will be at 94 percent capacity instead of its current 130 percent capacity. This decision is not a short-term fix; … the four schools are projected to remain below their functional capacity through at least 2018. The School Board believes this will provide an educational atmosphere that continues to be conducive to academic achievement. It also is a prudent business decision that will save $40 million in taxpayer money.”
A chart accompanying this news release gives the details of each school’s enrollment and functional capacity. The Capital Improvement Program is available at chesterfield.k12.va.us.
The School Board invites public comment on the Capital Improvement Program via
e-mail to ccpsinfo@ccpsnet.net or mail to P.O. Box 10, Chesterfield, VA 23832. Community members may also comment on the proposal to use the Chester Middle facility for the ninth-grade class of Thomas Dale High during a public forum 7-10 p.m. Dec. 16 at Thomas Dale High School, 3626 W. Hundred Road. The School Board is expected to vote in January on the Capital Improvement Program.
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