ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 11, 1996 TAG: 9612110022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on December 12, 1996.
A recent study of school facilities recommended that Montgomery
County build four new schools: an elementary school in Riner, a high
school for Shawsville, Elliston and Lafayette pupils, and middle schools
in Blacksburg and Christiansburg. A story in the Wednesday Current
incorrectly reported the plans for the new Christiansburg school.
After months of negotiation, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors agreed late Tuesday to purchase a site for a new Shawsville-Elliston area high school.
The 34.45-acre parcel, owned by sisters Joyce Graham and Annette David, is located at U.S. 11/460 and Crozier Road. It will cost Montgomery County $285,000, or $8,273 per acre.
That's almost the same per-acre cost the county paid in March to buy 40 acres for $330,000 for a new Riner-area elementary school.
"I'm very happy we're moving forward," said Mary Beth Dunkenberger, who represents the Elliston/Shawsville area on the Montgomery County School Board.
Dunkenberger said the purchase agreement is the first step to building a new school to replace Shawsville High School, which is antiquated and overcrowded.
The new school will end the present arrangement in Shawsville of mixing middle and high school students in the building, which Dunkenberger called undesirable.
When the new school is built, the present site will be used to house a middle school only, she said.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Henry Jablonski said the parcel was "either the top site or one of the top sites" investigated by the county for the new school.
Although the county doesn't have a specific timetable for building the new Shawsville/Elliston school - and hasn't determined how to finance its construction - having a site will be a large step forward, Jablonski said.
After an executive session, the supervisors took two votes regarding the school site: one to buy the 34.45 acres; and another to condemn another
Jablonski said the smaller site, presently owned by Matta Lee Harmon, was needed to provide safe access to the new school site.
The vote on buying the large site was unanimous. Supervisor Nick Rush cast the lone "no" vote against condemnation.
Originally, Graham and David had filed a request with the county to rezone the property from agriculture to residential use. The county Planning Commission recommended approval of that rezoning request in April.
The family learned of the county's interest in the site when a School Board member inquired about the land's availability for a new school.
Later, the Board of Supervisors declined to approve that rezoning request, and initiated negotiations to purchase the site.
The new Shawsville-Elliston high school is part of a plan to build four new schools - a middle school in Blacksburg, a high school in Christiansburg and an elementary school in Riner. Construction is beginning on a new elementary school in Riner, which will cost about $8.5 million and be paid for with the sale of bonds.
School administrators had hoped to finish all the schools by the turn of the century, but lengthy negotiations and delays have slowed the process considerably.
School Board Chairwoman Annette Perkins said the Shawsville-Elliston land negotiation went smoother than previous ones. Last year, the Board of Supervisors changed its decision at least three times before agreeing to purchase 40 acres from a local farmer.
After more than a year of flip-flop decisions, the School Board recently agreed to renovate the present Blacksburg Middle School building.
Land for a new high school in Christiansburg is still under negotiation.
Staff Writer Lisa Applegate contributed information to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB