In the best of times, it’s difficult to balance the big-ticket projects in Charlottesville’s Capital Improvement Plan, the city’s five-year budget schedule for large infrastructure projects. That’s only become more challenging during the pandemic, when municipal coffers have taken a hit. Last week the Planning Commission debated the merits of a variety of upcoming projects, including a controversial $10 million parking garage downtown. Whatever City Council ultimately decides to do about the parking garage, another other major expenditure looms in the near future: school reconfiguration.
The proposed school reconfiguration project is designed to decrease the number of transitions students go through from elementary to middle school. The district would move fifth grade from Walker Upper Elementary, which houses fifth and sixth grades, back down to elementary schools, and sixth grade up to Buford Middle School.
“That’s just a tough time,” explains Charlottesville School Board chair Lisa Larson-Tores. “You get into a building and then you get settled and start to make relationships—then you’re leaving again.”
“Fifth graders really are developmentally more aligned with elementary school,” she adds.
Walker would then be revamped into a centralized preschool with wraparound services, including a health clinic and counseling.
The 54-year-old middle school would also get a badly needed makeover, which doesn’t come cheap.
“A lot of these school buildings are the same buildings, maybe the same auditorium seats that some of our city councilors sat in when they were going to school,” says Larson-Torres. “We will be upgrading to the physical spaces that these kids deserve.”
A lot of these school buildings are the same buildings, maybe the same auditorium seats that some of our city councilors sat in when they were going to school.
Lisa Larson-Torres, Charlottesville School Board chair
The school board first began discussing reconfiguration in 2008, but had to put it on hold when the recession hit. Though the project was mentioned on and off over the years, it was not officially revived until around 2017, following a school growth and capacity study suggesting that reconfiguration would help to address achievement gaps and equity issues.
“We had [an] architect come in to lead public forums, meet with us to provide different options, and provide some of the framework that the board used to then make our decision as far as which direction we wanted to go,” says Larson-Torres.
While the city’s negotiations with an architecture firm were halted at the start of the pandemic, they resumed last fall, putting the school board in “wait mode,” explains Larson-Torres.
“We are waiting to hear whether or not the contract has been finalized with the architect that was chosen,” she says. “Right now there’s lots of transition going on, [with] the new city manager coming in and the city attorney. All of those people are a part of this.”
In the Capital Improvement Plan draft, the city has set aside $50 million as a placeholder for reconfiguration, but the architect contract will give a more realistic price estimate and timeline.
During a February 3 budget work session, councilors largely agreed that the West Main Streetscape could be paused in order to allocate more funding to school reconfiguration. However, it remains unclear if any other adjustments, like a tax increase, will be needed.
If council ultimately decides not to move forward with reconfiguration, the school district will have to find another way to update its aging infrastructure, which could cost just as much as reconfiguration.
“It’s my sincere hope that we get to the next step, and that everyone is willing to take a deep breath and understand this is an investment this community and our kids deserve,” says Larson-Torres.