ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 TAG: 9704160048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN AND LISA APPLEGATE THE ROANOKE TIMES
Study to compare cost of new construction versus renovation of Christiansburg Middle School.
If renovation rather than a new building was the right decision for Blacksburg Middle School, could it also be in the future for Christiansburg Middle School?
Consultants hired by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will evaluate three proposed school projects - including whether to renovate or build a new Christiansburg Middle School.
The supervisors requested a study comparing the cost of new construction versus renovation of Christiansburg Middle School, renovation of Blacksburg Middle School, and construction of the Elliston area high school facilities.
The supervisors hired Marsh Witt Associates of Roanoke to ensure these projects will meet their functions at the least cost. The hope is that this analysis, called value engineering, will produce significant savings and reduce the county's future borrowing costs.
Joe Gorman, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said considering all the options makes good sense.
The engineering firm will give the board the facts it needs to make decisions on school construction, he said.
While an Elliston site has been selected and an agreement made to renovate and enlarge Blacksburg Middle School, no site has been selected for a new Christiansburg Middle School.
The supervisors and School Board have agreed on a preferred site, Gorman said, but no agreement has been reached with the property owner. The supervisors' vote to look at both renovating and building a new school for Christiansburg Middle shouldn't be looked at as direction to the School Board, Gorman said, in contrast to the supervisors' earlier pronouncement that they would fund only a renovation and not a new building for Blacksburg Middle School.
"We just haven't been able to come to agreement on the Christiansburg Middle School site and we figure a value engineering firm can ... give us an objective answer," Gorman said. "The decision's been made on Blacksburg. Christiansburg is still undecided."
As far as the actual building is concerned, Christiansburg Middle School isa renovation.
The main building was built in the 1930s as a high school, and additions were made 10 years later. In 1952, an elementary school was built on the same property. Two years after that, a gym was added to the main building. In 1962, a third building, used for vocational education, was built between the two existing schools. In 1979, more renovations were made.
When the committee of parents and educators met to design a new middle school, renovating the present school wasn't even a consideration, said Principal Don Bullock. Renovation would require changes from the leaking basement all the way up to the unair-conditioned second-floor classrooms, he said.
In the cafeteria, a large patch of tile was removed and cemented over after a sewer line burst. A section of gym floor has been replaced twice this year after moisture under the floor caused it to buckle. The school begins lunch periods just after 10 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. because the cafeteria is so small.
Like Blacksburg, Christiansburg Middle School is near the public library, downtown stores and government offices.
And like Blacksburg Middle School, Christiansburg falls short of state requirements for acreage by 2.5 acres.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB