Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 3, 1995 TAG: 9510030067
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Donna Dunay and Cathy Albright spoke to the Board of Supervisors last week, extolling the benefits of renovating Blacksburg Middle School. A study conducted last year recommended building four brand new schools, including a new Blacksburg Middle school on a different site.
But the architects said the school, located on a hill just above the heart of downtown Blacksburg, is a focal point for the community. Children can walk to school, and residents stay involved with education because it's something they see on a daily basis.
Moving the school out of town, where the 30 acres needed for the campus could be available, would change the quality of life for Blacksburg residents, they said.
The two were invited by Supervisor Joe Gorman to illustrate a new option in the four-school expansion recently approved by the board.
After two years and $60,000, a Facility Use-Space study recommended construction of four new schools to combat overcrowded conditions. The projects include an elementary school in Riner, a high school in Shawsville, and a two middle schools in Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
The study did not list renovating the current Blacksburg Middle facility as an option.
The School Board approved the study and the Board of Supervisors voted to appropriate funds for the first part of the project: building a new Riner elementary school.
Now, a site selection committee made up of members from both boards is considering options for the second construction priority: how to relieve overcrowding at Blacksburg Middle.
That's where the Virginia Tech study comes in. Dunay and Albright had presented a study in Newport News last spring dealing with the need to retain centrally located schools.
They used Blacksburg Middle School as a case study, even though they had no idea the school was being studied by the School Board.
Gorman read an article about the study and asked the architects to speak to the site selection committee, then to the entire Board of Supervisors.
Gorman said using the current facility makes aesthetic and financial sense.
The renovations, he said, cost about the same as building a new school - about $13 million.
"They'd like to have about 30 acres, but there's just not that much land available in Blacksburg," he said. The current middle school has about 23 acres.
School Board Chairman Roy Vickers said he opposes the option because it limits the chances for future expansions.
"We had talked about eventually having a joint campus with the middle and high schools. That has tremendous advantages, like sharing facilities," he said.
Though the School Board will discuss this new option at its meeting tonight, the final decision still remains with financial providers.
"The Board of Supervisors has to control the purchase of land," Gorman said. "There's a division between the boards that we need to work out."
by CNB