Board Approves Resolution to Borrow High School Addition and Renovation | Latest Headlines

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors intends to apply for school bonds with a general commitment not exceeding $35 million to fund a new auditorium, cafeteria and food court renovations, conversion of existing dining spaces to vocational and technical education (CTE), as well as Fund upgrades to Lancer Stadium, a new field house adjacent to the baseball and softball fields, and additional parking.

The county plans to apply to the Virginia Public School Authority for loans to fund its largest school construction project in more than 20 years.

The high school’s renovation and expansion project is valued at about $19.6 million by Davenport & Company LLC, the county’s financial advisor, according to RT Taylor. The application to the VPSA is due on February 28, he said.

According to Taylor, the amount borrowed is $31 million, with more than $11 million in outstanding debt from a project the division and county undertook in 2016 to upgrade heating, air and ventilation infrastructure in to improve the division. The department takes on old debt by refinancing it, similar to a home refinance loan, he said.

“We will not incur any more debt than we need to fulfill the mission,” Taylor said.

District Administrator Dean Rodgers said the district is using soft loans while it can to fund the project. Taylor told the school board the strategy is to save money.

School board member John Grieser said he appreciated the board’s support.

“I am satisfied with the [supervisors] Support for the extension that includes some CTE programs,” said Grieser. “We have to give them space and the opportunity to teach them the skills to do it.”

Gary Roakes, the department manager for maintenance and operations, said the next six to seven months will include the design phase of the project and bidding for the work to a general contractor later this year.

Construction of the new auditorium is scheduled to begin in mid-2023 and be completed in 2024, according to Roakes, an estimated 16-month project. Much of the work is planned over two summers while students are out of school, Roakes said.

• At the request of Chief Academic Officer Dana Norman, the Board approved additional distance learning days for the current school year at the county high school, two middle schools and the Amherst Education Center. Norman said if the extra days weren’t made available, the department would have to close school on those days and not offer distance learning. Norman said the county’s six elementary schools will not be applying for extended distance learning days.
• Norman reported that the department recently received a $60,000 grant from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act for a school climate specialist, a contracted position for only one year. The specialist will play a critical role in improving student performance by ensuring that each school in the department creates and maintains a positive learning environment focused on supporting and developing each student, as appropriate to the department. The specialist will work to facilitate community engagement, develop partnerships with community agencies to support students and their families, and promote a method of consistently coordinating academic, behavioral and home school and community initiatives and supports. The department also recently received $181,555 in federal grants for before and after school programs and summer schools. The measures aim to close the learning gap, address learning losses and mental health needs during the pandemic, Norman said.
• Roakes said he was in discussions with the Virginia Department of Transportation and a general contractor about a project involving the department, rebuilding Woody’s Lake Road in Madison Heights. The road is heavily used for transportation to Monelison Middle School. Trojan Lane, which intersects Woodys Lake Road, will be closed during construction this summer, Roakes said. The department plans to move all summer school-related activities, which normally take place in Monelison, to other facilities this year, Roakes said.
• The board unanimously approved the department’s 2022-23 school year calendar, effective July 1.