School Board approves new high school

Applause and cheers erupted in the Prince William County School Board meeting room Wednesday night, after the board approved a contract to build a new high school.

With a 7-0 vote, the School Board awarded a $70.7 million contract to Hess Construction to build the school in the Linton Hall area. Board member Julie Lucas was absent.
The school will cost about $11 million less to build than originally thought.

At the board’s last meeting in December, the vote on the contract was postponed to this week.

About two dozen parents attended Wednesday’s meeting and asked the board to approve the new high school, which they said is needed to alleviate overcrowding in other schools, particularly Brentsville District High School.

“I think this is a critical need. It’s a need that’s not going to go away,” said Michael Anderson, who has two children in middle school and two in elementary school. He said all four of his children are currently taught in classroom trailers.

School Board members said they supported the new high school. Some board members said they asked for the delay at the last meeting only because they wanted time to have more questions answered.

“We wanted to ensure that we had the most current information that was possible,” said Grant Lattin (Occoquan). “I think all of the board members realize the importance of building this school and always have.”

The approved contract is $11.3 under the projected $82 million cost to build the new school, officials said.

The construction bids were lower than expected, partly because of declining construction costs, said David Cline, associate superintendent for finance and support services.

The high school will be funded through bond sales and over the course of 20 years, Cline said. In the fiscal 2010 budget, $1.4 million would be needed to fund the high school.

The new school will be built at the intersection of Kettle Run and Vint Hill roads and is planned to alleviate overcrowding at Brentsville and Battlefield high schools.
Construction is scheduled to begin in February and the school is set to open in September 2011, officials said.

After the vote, many parents in the audience applauded and a few cheered.

“We’re very happy,” Kim Johnson, the parent of current middle and elementary school students, said outside the board meeting. “We didn’t want our children to be sent to another school and then another, when the overcrowding would still not be solved.”

“It’s definitely necessary. At Brentsville, it’s by far needed,” said parent Tammie Utne.

Superintendent Steven L. Walts also said he was happy with the board’s decision.

“Building a new high school is a lot of years in the planning,” Walts said. “There’s going to be a lot of pain and challenges and difficulties in the upcoming budget. I think that’s all the more reason to celebrate all of the things that are still going to happen.”

The school will include the latest in technology, Walts said.

“It’s going to be a phenomenal high school,” he said.

But parents at the meeting, whose children have attended classes in trailers for years, said they had some more basic concerns.

“Are the bathrooms on the inside?” one parent asked.

“All the bathrooms are on the inside,” Walts said.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.