Updated January 3, 2012
Following up on our activity during the recent election cycle, we met at West Springfield High School on December 1, 2011 with newly elected and re-elected Board of Supervisors and School Board leaders. Attending were Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, Braddock Supervisor John Cook, new Springfield School Board member Elizabeth Schultz, new Braddock School Board member Megan McLaughlin and new At Large School Board members Ryan McElveen and Ted Velkoff.
We discussed the current CIP and the reality that West Springfield High School has never received a structural renovation in its entire 46-year history, is not projected to be fully renovated before 2019, and that there are also 3 unrenovated high schools behind WSHS in the renovation queue (Herndon, Oakton and Falls Church) that are not projected to be renovated until the 2020s.
We also presented and discussed our efforts and ideas how school renovations can be accelerated.
We also toured WSHS so all our leaders could see firsthand the current state of the WSHS facility that students and staff must overcome every day. WSHS is a great school in an aging facility that needs to be renovated now. Facility issues include:
1. Many WSHS classrooms do not provide optimal educational environments all our children deserve – from not meeting Fairfax County specifications for science, technology and music to basic issues including bad odors in classrooms due to very old carpet that has not been replaced in years and some bathrooms in disrepair
2. Science labs are too small and crowded for optimal teaching with modern equipment, are not well ventilated and do not meet Fairfax County specifications
3. The Music Wing fails to meet Fairfax County specifications for performing arts instructional spaces. Some music classes are held in an old Industrial Shop.
4. One computer lab exceeds 90 degrees when all computers are in use
5. Electrical system cannot support the simultaneous use of modern technology such as computers, monitors and audio-visual equipment
6. Heating/AC units do not work well and cannot be regulated from room to room – some rooms are too hot while other rooms are too cold
7. Cafeteria not large enough to accommodate student lunches with students having to sit on floor in hallway
FCPS Chief Operating Officer Dean Tistadt has repeatedly warned Fairfax BOS and School Board leaders for at least the past 3 years that the current $155M in annual CIP funding is not sufficient to meet their goal to renovate schools every 30 years.
At a July 2010 School Board meeting, Tistadt stated:
“The capital program annual spending limit of $155 million, established by the Board of Supervisors, is inadequate to meet the capital needs of the school system. The lack of adequate funding means that many schools are not being renovated in a timely manner and too many schools have trailers to address overcrowding.”
At a May 2009 SOAR meeting with Chairman Bulova and 2 School Board members to discuss the CIP, during a discussion of current funding levels, Tistadt stated that,
“If we continue business as usual, we will fail.”
At the annual CIP meeting in January 2009, Tistadt admitted to School Board members that his staff was “not making any progress” in the FCPS goal of 30-year renovation cycles and in fact was “falling further and further behind” in the CIP renovation queue.
At the October 2008 SOAR Town Hall, Tistadt also admitted to the West Springfield community audience and a host of elected officials that the CIP was “falling further and further behind on renovation needs.”
Record low interest rates coupled with historically low renovation project costs present Fairfax leaders with a unique opportunity to solve long-standing CIP challenges. More capital funding is clearly needed and now is the ideal time to do it. Investing more now will save Fairfax County millions in the future and will renovate more schools faster.
In February 2011, we developed and presented to Fairfax Supervisors Pat Herrity, John Cook and Sharon Bulova a win-win proposal to provide incremental CIP funding. Chairman Bulova directed county and school staff to present the county a formal proposal. This proposal was presented to but ultimately not approved by County Executive Tony Griffin in March 2011.
The new School Board and Board of Supervisors should work together to develop and implement solutions to renovate schools faster. How will the newly elected School Board and Board of Supervisors address the impending crisis of school renovation timelines far in excess of the 30-year goal? How can Fairfax provide adequate capital funding to renovate schools in a more timely manner to achieve their own goals? How can the school system continue to thrive if too many of its older unrenovated schools like West Springfield High School do not provide optimal learning environments?
We have actively engaged Board of Supervisors, School Board members and candidates this election cycle for their ideas and plans how to renovate schools faster. We look forward to continuing to work with the new Board of Supervisors and School Board to turn those plans and campaign promises into reality. Our kids deserve nothing less. Are school renovations a priority of Fairfax County?
