ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603030019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
Annette Perkins gave it her best shot, but in the end, the proposed Riner school site grew nary an acre.
The Montgomery County School Board chairwoman spent 90 minutes Friday night making the case for a 40-acre site in fast-growing but still-rural Riner for a new elementary school.
But a solid majority of the county Board of Supervisors - which has the say on buying land - remained unmoved from Monday's switch to 20 acres. The School Board calls that amount "unacceptable."
"We'll have to go back and regroup at this point," Perkins said.
School Board member David Moore wasn't so diplomatic.
"If we get 20 acres, I would vote to stop the project completely," he said. "It's an inferior decision."
The supervisors settled on 20 acres on Monday after rescinding a 2-week-old condemnation attempt on 40 acres of a Riner farm behind Auburn High and Middle schools.
The move came after a vocal protest from more than 40 Riner residents.
The supervisors' 4-3 flip-flop surprised and frustrated the School Board, whose members thought the supervisors had agreed to the larger site.
Two supervisors, including Chairman Henry Jablonski, took part in a committee that came up with the original site.
Several supervisors said they might be willing to support a few more acres than 20, but they wanted to hear the results of the negotiations with the bank that holds the land in trust for a young Riner farmer.
Meanwhile, some School Board members plan to try to rally public support for the original plan. That could set up a face-off at their March 11 meeting between critics and supporters of a larger school site.
"We've heard from one side; let's hear from the other," said Supervisor Nick Rush, who opposes the larger site.
School Board members argued that 40 acres was not just for a new 750-pupil elementary school.
The larger site would provide space for three schools - the elementary school and renovations of the middle and high schools.
It also would meet a state planning objective of 69 acres for three schools, given that the two existing Riner schools stand on 29 acres.
The absolute minimum for three schools is 39 acres, school officials said. They would exceed that by 10 acres with the 20-acre addition.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: map showing 40 acre site STAFFby CNB