School Board Decides Not to Decide

After hours of discussion about design possibilities for the new construction at and , the Board decided not to vote on the pre-design proposals, but to put off the vote until the Jan. 10 meeting.

The decision came in the wake of community concern about inequities in the construction proposals between campuses, namely between Upper and Manor.

Manor parent Claire Chedekel read a letter to the board signed by 16 people, similar to . The letter asked how the budget numbers for each school site were determined and, if given Manor’s population, the Fairfax school’s needs were being appropriately addressed.

“All our schools and all our children deserve to be well-represented,” said Chedekel.

The proposed budgets for each campus, in addition to information about how those numbers were arrived at can be seen as right.

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The bond money will be matched by state funds giving the district approximately $50 million to address growing overcrowding concerns. Of that money, about $32.4 million will be spent at White Hill. The middle school needed the most work. A design plan was approved earlier this year (available at right) and construction will begin late this spring/early summer.

The remainder of the money is split among the elementary schools as follows: receives $6.5 million that covers five classrooms and a multi-purpose room; Wade Thomas receives $2.1 million and four classrooms; Upper will receive $3.2 million and four classrooms – three of which are new Kindergarten classrooms; and Manor will receive $1.8 million for two classrooms and one modular classroom.

Plans for and Lower were also approved earlier this year.

Monday night Manor hosted a “community conversation,” Principal Jason Richardson called it. Largely up for discussion was where the two new classrooms at Manor should go. Because of higher than projected enrollment this year, Manor will also get a modular classroom as soon as this spring. (Modular classrooms are pre-fabricated elsewhere and meet state standards, so they can be built more quickly.) Construction on the modular, which will be situated near the southern end of the campus, closest to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, is expected to begin in January.

Richardson reported to the board and public that of the three options up for discussion the most popular location was near the front where students are currently dropped off and picked up.

Manor parent Shelley Hamilton presented another option she had come up with that would remodel the library to create two classrooms and extend the library towards the administration building, creating a courtyard for students as well. WRNS Architects, who are the architects for Manor and White Hill, and the bond manager, George Baranoff, said they saw problems with that plan, but parents encouraged the board to consider it.

The board discussion mainly focused on issues at Upper Brookside. Upper requires three new Kindergarten classrooms, which are significantly more expensive than regular classrooms and must include bathrooms and a designated play are, and one additional classroom. During the design process, the Broookside Upper community also decided parking lots and ADA pathways, for an additional $200,000, were important to ensure the safety of kids walking with all the parking problems and cars driving.

The initial proposal placed four classrooms at the back of campus where the portables are currently for $3.2 million, but teachers didn’t like having Kindergarten so far from administration. The plan that was most currently on the table involved remodeling the library, which currently houses one classroom, to three Kindergarten classrooms and then erecting a new library at the front of campus and building an additional classroom for $3.25 million. The cheapest plan involved putting the four classrooms on the basketball courts and then rebuilding the asphalt play area for $2.9 million, but that meant the new play area would cut into the baseball field.

There was concern, however, that a new library at one school, but not another would seem unfair and was not the best use of money.

“I’d like to see this level of discussion about Manor,” said Richardson.

“We’re actually starting to add on other features that weren’t initially discussed,” said Board Trustee Heidi Weller. She pointed out that initial budget projections for each site were based on where they thought the classrooms should go and some locations required expensive additions. However, if the classrooms didn’t go there, then the money wasn’t necessarily required. It was important, she said, to take more of a “bottom-up” approach to consider what was necessary to increase enrollment first and foremost.

Additionally, the board members expressed concern that enrollment numbers continue to exceed even the highest projections.

“It concerns me that we would spend up to the very max and then possibly need more,” said Board Trustee Anne Capron.

The board weighed the importance of moving forward with a pre-design option that would decide where the buildings should go against the importance of considering more options. Delays, the architects said, would cost money and could put the applications for state matching funds in jeopardy.

The board even considered an option that would have built a new library and one less classroom at Upper. The rationale being that the district didn’t need to host a county program at the campus. But, since the plan would still have spent close to budget and gotten fewer classrooms, it was voted down.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the board will make a decision on the Manor and Upper pre-design.

Board President Chris Carlucci, weighing the options of moving forward with a less than perfect plan or delaying the process, did make a note. “We’ve been told in surveys by the community that we do not make decisions in a timely manner.”

Do you think the board made the right decision?