39 new classrooms instead of a new school in eastern Prince William

A shortage of acceptable and affordable school sites in the Lake Ridge area has forced Prince William County Public Schools to alter its plans to build two new elementary schools to help alleviate over-crowding in eastern Prince William County.

While the school division’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) earlier called for construction of two elementary schools in the area, the “Elementary School East (Neabsco Mills area), sometimes referred to as “PW Parkway Elementary,” and “Elementary School (Lake Ridge area),” plans now call for construction of one elementary school at a site still to be determined, and classroom additions to three existing schools.

Antietam, Lake Ridge and Springwoods elementary schools will each receive 13-classroom additions, providing approximately 900 seats, the same number of seats as would have been created by a second new school.

According to David Cline, associate superintendent for finance and support services for the school division, the additions should be completed at the same time as the new school, August of 2019.

“At that time, we’ll make one massive boundary change,” he said.

“The ideal would be to build two new schools, but the cost will be about the same,” he said, noting that, in addition to classrooms, the additions will need to address the impact of more students on the schools’ cafeterias, libraries, core systems and more.

“We’ll be looking at the buildings and grounds [to assess needs] and will come back with a formal plan.”

Cline explained that, when building a new elementary school, the goal is to award contracts 15 months ahead, or, in this case, the spring of 2018.

“Over the next year, we will pin down the site, design and engineer the building and advertise for bids. The contract should be awarded in mid-spring of 2018.

The increased capacity is needed to alleviate overcrowding of elementary schools in the Lake Ridge area. Currently, despite classroom additions at several schools, Lake Ridge and Springwoods elementary schools each have 7 portable classrooms (often referred to as trailers) and Old Bridge Elementary School has one.

The new spaces would also provide relief for the severely overcrowded Elizabeth Vaughn Elementary School.

“We need massive relief in the eastern end of the county,” Cline said, noting that the upcoming opening of Kyle Wilson Elementary School later this month and Potomac Shores Elementary and the Kilby Elementary School replacement schools which are currently under construction “doesn’t get us there. We still need Lake Ridge.”

While two sites are no longer needed, the search goes on for a home for “Prince William Parkway Elementary.” Cline said that negotiations are currently underway with the owners of a potential site.

“We’re still trying to get to a deal. I hope will happen within the next month or so,” he said.

The school division’s original choice, a county-owned property located adjacent to Chinn Library, was set aside earlier this year as a result of community opposition. The Chinn site and the site currently under negation were among 11 originally considered by school division staff as possibilities, Cline said.

“The biggest issue is that the cost of land in the area has escalated dramatically,” he said. “Where a couple of years ago we might have said ‘we can’t pay that’, Now we have to look at those properties. But, the more we talk about the need for a site, the more landowners realize that need and the price goes up.”

Cline estimated that the cost of the land needed to house an elementary school at “$5 million to $10 million, a cost that could have been avoided if the Chinn Park site had been utilized.

“The discussion at the time was that [the Board of County Supervisors] would give us the site, but usually we would compensate them in some way,” he said.

The Chinn Park plan was presented at public meetings in October and January that drew opponents to the location, who cited traffic concerns, diminishing green space in the area and encroachment on trails and animal habitats as reasons to place the school elsewhere. In addition to the public meetings, school staff met with at least three major homeowner’s associations, Cline said, “if only to highlight the need we have there and ask the ‘what can you do to help us?’”

“The Chinn site hasn’t been withdrawn,” he said, “We’ve put it on hold while we pursue another alternative. The county has indicated that they would be willing to contribute up to $2 million towards the cost of a site.”

Cline said that one of the other properties that was on the list has since been sold, “but we’re keeping it on the list because, who knows?”
“The question becomes, ‘how much are we willing to pay?” he said. We pay $15 million for a high school site. Do we want to pay that for an elementary school site?” High school sites average 80 acres while elementary schools require 20 acres.

“For the last 3 or 4 years, every time we get close to something, the rug gets pulled out from under us,” Cline said. “One of the sites has a cemetery smack in the middle of it. It would end up in the bus loop.”