ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070064
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS AND LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITERS
County School Board members need to study more before they're quizzed about the future of Blacksburg Middle School.
They've deferred making a decision between constructing a new building or expanding the present structure until next month, at least.
Concerns such as costs and how much students would be disrupted during construction prompted board members Tuesday to ask School Superintendent Herman Bartlett to gather more information.
Board members want to be prepared when they're asked to justify spending millions of dollars for a new or renovated facility.
"If we don't ask these questions, we're going to be blasted by the Board of Supervisors," said member Mary Beth Dunkenberger.
There have been on-going negotiations between both boards about plans to build four new schools in the county to handle ever-increasing school enrollment. Plans for replacing 40-year-old Blacksburg Middle School have varied from building a new school on a new site to renovating and enlarging the present school.
The latest hybrid proposal is to build a new school on the back of the old site, roughly where the school's football stadium is located, and demolish the present school.
That idea originated from a committee of Blacksburg residents. Its chairman, Blacksburg Middle School Principal Gary McCoy, told the School Board that committee members were concerned about students' safety, their ability to concentrate if work crews added on to the current structure, and the adaptability of the present school to modern teaching methods.
"We know that there's hazardous material in there. That's a real unknown cost in renovation," McCoy added.
When the plans for four new schools were first being developed, the Blacksburg committee recommended a brand new school on a different location, likely a site located farther out of town.
A study by two Virginia Tech architects, that said keeping the school downtown maintains a sense of community, caught the eye of several supervisors, who asked the committee to reconsider its decision.
Based on that request, school administrators developed another option: Building additions in front of and behind the present school.
Preliminary estimates indicate that renovations on the old school or construction of a new one on the same site would cost approximately the same, said Larry Schoff, transportation and facilities director.
Schoff also said that the school's 900 students could be switched from the old to the new buildings during construction.
"We can make that work," Bartlett said.
Both ideas generated questions among School Board members. Barry Worth predicted demolishing the present school would be "a big sticking point with the supervisors."
"They don't want to see a good building torn down," he added.
School Board members Mike Smith and Jim Klagge said their children probably would be attending the school while work - estimated to take as long as three years - progresses. Smith said the "No. 1 key issue" is how much construction will disrupt education.
Wat Hopkins asked for more specific information about the renovation's impact on students. Other board members wanted to know how other schools systems have fared with similar projects that keep schools open during renovation.
Either plan will force the relocation of the school's stadium, used for Blacksburg High and Middle School football games, and add unknown costs to purchase a new site, Schoff said.
Board Chairwoman Annette Perkins asked Bartlett to gather more information and report next month, so a plan can be recommended to the supervisors.
"We do need to respond to the Board of Supervisors as soon as possible," Bartlett said.
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