Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 4, 1995                   TAG: 9506050031
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PARENTS TO GET A SAY IN NEW HIGH SCHOOL

And one thing they'll get to comment on is whether there should be one or two high schools in Southwest Roanoke County.

That's one issue in a $70,000 feasibility study that will recommend future school facilities for that quadrant of the county.

A steering committee and consultants will seek the community's views on the high school and other issues.

It won't be a top-down process that produces recommendations that are decreed by the committee and consultants, said William DeJong, a consultant with The Moseley McClintock Group, the Richmond-based firm doing the study.

Instead, the goal will be to develop a consensus within the community, he said.

Two community meetings will be held to get residents' views. One will focus on issues such as the optimal size of schools, educational programs, technology and school priorities. It will be held soon after school opens in the fall.

A second meeting will be held in October to outline the options, including financial projections and the tax impact.

"We will rate the options and let the community express its view. We will try to build a consensus," DeJong said.

Until now, school officials have talked in terms of one new Cave Spring High for 2,000 students that would cost about $20 million.

Cave Spring High now has about 1,200 students, but it does not have the ninth grade because there is no space for it. Ninth-graders attend Cave Spring and Hidden Valley junior high schools.

Cave Spring Junior High is overcrowded and will require major renovation if it is going to continue to be used.

Partly at the urging of county Supervisor Lee Eddy, the School Board has decided to study all options before proceeding.

Eddy has raised the possibility that the county might want to consider using two high schools - the existing Cave Spring High and Cave Spring Junior or Hidden Valley Junior High buildings - rather than constructing a new $20 million structure.

Some parents are concerned that Cave Spring would drop from AAA to AA classification in high school athletics if the county opted for two high schools.

Cave Spring is the only county high school in the AAA classification. Northside and William Byrd high schools are AA schools, and Glenvar is in group A.

The right size for high schools is one of the most difficult issues in education, DeJong said.

Some researchers say the optimal size is 1,200 to 1,700 students, he said, but others favor smaller schools.

DeJong said the existing Cave Spring High would be difficult to expand because of the size of its corridors and its design.

"This building is not rated well for expansion," he said, adding that he has observed the crowded conditions.

The consultants toured all schools in the southwest quadrant this week, and talked with teachers and school administrators.

During the next two months, the consultants will collect data on enrollment projections, existing facilities, growth patterns and school needs. They also will review the county's current and future educational programs. To a large extent, DeJong said, educational programs help determine the need in buildings.