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

DATE: THURSDAY, November 23, 1995                   TAG: 9511240012
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-10   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

FORUM WILL FOCUS ON MIDDLE-SCHOOL ISSUE

Seventh-grader Cullen Quesenberry thinks the School Board should build a new one. The current school, he said, could be turned into a recreation center - complete with video games, ping-pong tables and a dance floor.

Principal Gary McCoy worries that if the school remains in its current location, renovations to ready it for a growing number of students would create noise and disrupt classes.

Blacksburg town planners believe renovating the current school would better serve the needs of downtown, where children are vital to Montgomery County's library and to community interaction.

Wednesday, planners, parents, teachers and students can speak up on the issue at a community forum, the second to be held this fall. The meeting, conducted by the Facility Use-Space Study committee, will begin at the school at 7 p.m.

The committee will likely weigh in with its recommendation on the issue by December. The recommendation, which will be presented to the School Board, will be based, in part, on public comment. This is the second time the group will make such a recommendation.

The committee formed two years ago to decide how best to handle overcrowding at the school. At that time, members faced a 40-year-old school with antiquated plumbing and electrical systems. The more than 900 students eat lunch in shifts from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. because the cafeteria can only handle a portion of the bulging student body.

Between 60 and 80 more students will struggle through crowded halls next year; the student body is expect to rise to 1,000 in the next few years.

The committee recommended building a new school on a different site, with the possibility of adding a new high school to the campus later.

But a study by two Virginia Tech architects threw a monkey wrench into the plan. A theoretical study of the school, conducted by Donna Dunay and Katherine Albright, attracted the attention of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board because it emphasized how the school enhanced residents' quality of life.

The school, they argued, provides a sense of community for both the students and the town. To move the school outside town - the only place land is available - would hurt everyone.

At last month's forum, Maintenance and Facilities Director Larry Schoff presented the audience with a rough plan for renovations that included a two-story addition to the front of the school.

Another smaller wing would be added to the back and the current west wing would be taken down.

But there were limitations. There was no plan to expand the gym, which holds several classes at one time. The football field would have to be moved to a different location.

Seventh-grader Eric Lawson doesn't care what the School Board finally decides to do, just as long as there's more space for him and his clarinet. The band room, he said, is crowded by too many students and percussion instruments.

OPINIONS ABOUT BLACKSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL

A sampling of comments gathered by the facilities committee:

"As a BMS teacher, I have major concern for the disruption and safety of all the individuals while a renovation would be taking place. I believe that the learning/teaching environment at BMS will be seriously impaired."

"I prefer a new middle school. ... There are many needs that would not be met with the renovation and it is counting on too many unknown factors."

"People so often lament the death of our downtowns. Moving the middle school is the type of action that causes its death."

"I prefer the 'Alter/Add to Existing Middle School' option. ... This location allows the children to learn about being citizens in a community (as opposed to citizens of a mall), to use the public library, and to use Tech facilities and campus for educational purposes."

"[I support] construction of a new middle school. ... The present middle school land can better serve Blacksburg in another capacity. How about an art/music center?"

"One year ago, I applauded the decision for new. I stand by that choice. ... I doubt the sense of community has been compromised at Christiansburg and Blacksburg High Schools due to the distance from downtown."