School board says there’s no money for a traditional school right now

For the most part, the Prince William County School Board thinks a traditional high school is a great idea.

How to go about creating one? That appears to be up for debate after a lengthy discussion by the board Tuesday night.

The impetus for the debate came after the board heard a presentation by Associate Superintendent of High Schools Mickey Mulgrew on the findings of a 2008 parent survey and subsequent traditional high school feasibility study.

Money and resources—or the lack thereof—were the primary causes for concern for creating a traditional high school. A standalone facility would cost more than $60 million to build, money that the board said would be difficult to find now or in the near future.

In 2011, the district is opening its 11th high school, which is estimated to cost $70.7 million, and is expecting lower than normal funding from the state in the coming fiscal year.

If the schools choose to rent a commercial space instead of building a new school, the cost would be more than $3.6 million a year for at least 10 years. A third option would be having a traditional school within an existing school, which could cost additional money if the structure needed to be renovated to accommodate the new students.

Board member Denita S. Ramirez of the Woodbridge District said the county should look at ways to improve its current schools before the idea of a traditional high school is seriously considered.

And chairman Milton Johns expressed a desire for the district to study its speciality programs at the various high schools and the costs associated with having these programs.

These would include transportation costs. Currently there are separate buses used for those students who take speciality programs at schools outside of their school boundaries. Transportation costs also include the expense of busing Prince William County students to Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson School for Science & Technology.

Board member Michael Otaigbe of the Coles District suggested using current resources for hosting traditional classes in the evenings before the schools consider spending large sums on a new building.

Currently, the county has two first- through eighth-grade traditional schools: Pennington in Manassas and Porter in Woodbridge.

In the 2008 survey, 44 percent of all middle school parents said they would be interested in having a traditional high school, while 83 percent of parents of Porter and Pennington students were in favor of the idea.

A smaller school atmosphere—the proposed traditional school would have only 1,000 students—and items like discipline, uniforms and mandatory parent and student service were all items parents cited as reasons to have a traditional high school.

Also on Tuesday, the school board approved a request to increase its fiscal 2010 operating budget by $4,670,457 due to an unexpectedly large increase in enrollment this year, new revenues, and the increase in grant programs where notification to the district was after the approval of the budget.

The increase in state revenue due to the increase in enrollment of 1,920 students over projection was an estimated $8.1 million; however, the overall increase was reduced to $1.6 million due to the projected reductions in sales tax and the Virginia Retirement System in the Governor's budget reductions released in mid-September.

To help offset the reduced state funding and pay for the increased enrollment this year, the schools are expecting a $12 million saving from a VRS rate holiday for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, said Schools Financial Services Director John Wallingford. Each quarter, the district normally makes an employer's contribution into the retirement fund.

In this instance, the district would be spared that expense.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.