THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, August 8, 1995                TAG: 9508080242
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                         LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL LIKELY TO COST $39 MILLION

Bids for the new I.C. Norcom High School were released to the City Council on Monday, and the cost for the school is now close to $39 million - $15 million more than the council estimated just three years ago.

The news comes one week after the council learned that the city's stressed fiscal condition caused a drop in its bond rating - a factor in determining how much the city must pay for the money it borrows.

The lower rating could mean that the city will pay even more in the long term for the new high school.

I.C. Norcom, once the city's only black high school, has long been a subject of controversy.

After Portsmouth's schools were integrated, the city considered turning the high school into a vocational center. That proposal sparked protest marches, sit-ins and classroom boycotts.

The latest debate arose several years ago when I.C. Norcom supporters asked that a new high school be built.

Councilman James C. Hawks has long said the school is not needed because there won't be enough students to fill the classrooms. But some residents and other council members argue that it will help heal racial wounds in the city.

Three years ago, when construction of a new I.C. Norcom was finally approved, the project's cost was estimated at $24 million.

The figure has risen every year since, prompting the city's municipal finance commission to urge the council to cap the project at $25 million.

On Monday, when the final bids were announced, Conrad Construction submitted the lowest bid - $28.6 million for construction alone. That was $1.6 million more than the city estimated.

With the added costs of buying the land, paying the architects, equipping the school and installing streets and utilities, the total price tag comes to $38.7 million.

The city has already spent $5.4 million on design, demolition and architectural costs for the school, which will be built on the site of the former Harry Hunt Junior High School between London Boulevard and High Street.

The council will hold a public hearing Aug. 22 to discuss issuing $25 million in bonds to fund the project. MEMO: Staff writer Shawn M. Terry contributed to this report.

KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS by CNB