VHSL-helper's new schools / stadiums info for 2013
This is a really weird year. Va. has no new high schools debuting, but
a LOT of students are moving into new or remodeled buildings.
In Wise County, the former Coeburn & St. Paul students have been going to
class in St. Paul while a $9.25 million upgrade of the former Coeburn HS has
been underway. 65,000 sq. ft. was renovated and about 50,000 sq. ft. was added.
With about 90% of the work done, students returned to Coeburn and the 'new'
Eastside High on Aug. 8th, while work continued away from the students for
about a month. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Sept. 30th.
Two other new HS BUILDINGS should open in Wise County this Winter. Work
on the new Central & Union Highs should be finished by mid-December, giving
everyone three weeks to move whatever over from Powell Valley & JJ Kelly.
Both schools are about 127,000 sq. ft., with a 1,500 seat gym, an 800 seat
auditorium & a 250 seat cafeteria wend are designed for 750 students at a
cost of around $25 million. (Here's the blueprints.)
The former JJ Kelly & Pound students are Central (Wise) Warriors and will
be located on top of a ridge behind the Wal-Mart between Wise & Norton, in
Esserville. The JJK building will NOT be razed (it might be turned into new
school board offices).
The former Powell Valley and Appalachia students are Union Bears, and
Bullitt Park's (yet-to-catch-on) nickname is the Bear Den. Their new building
is behind Powell Valley HS in Big Stone Gap, and the old PVHS will be razed.
(The county's annual debt service on all three projects is expected to be
about $3.5 million.)
Montgomery Co. opened 2 new HS buildings when the students returned
after Labor Day.
Auburn got a 181,000 sq. ft., $35.7 mil. replacement HS building that
can handle 600 students. The former HS building will get an $18.8 mil. in
renovations over the next year and will became the 'new', 460 student MS
next Fall.
A few miles up the road, Blacksburg high schoolers get to come back
'home' after spending waaaayyyy too long commuting to C'burg after their
gym roof collapsed under a heavy snow back in Feb., 2010, which led to
the entire building being deemed unsafe. The Bruins have a new $63 mil.,
291,000 sq. ft., 1,400 capacity building behind BMS on Prices Fork Road,
a little past Foxridge.
(Back in May, one of the county Supervisors suggested that the Board ask
the School Board to consider other names for the new BHS, like Western
Montgomery, because “it’s something we should consider to make our schools
more diverse.” [Just reading that made me think he wasn't a BHS grad...
and I was right.] The BoS then voted 4-2 in favor.
In Sept., Montgomery Co. received approval to launch a STEM Academy at
Christiansburg HS.
Carroll Co renovated and added on to their field house, turning it into
their 9th grade wing so they could close Woodlawn Middle School.
Martinsville HS looks to have completed a $9.5 mil. renovation project
which includes a new out-front addition for administration offices.
Arlington's Wakefield High moved into a new $115 mil., 404,000 sq. ft.,
four-floor, 1,960 capacity replacement building next door.
After the old building comes down, they'll renovate the bleachers &
press box at the football stadium.
Arlington's Yorktown High moved into a new $100 mil., 380,000 sq. ft.,
1,600 capacity replacement building
Prince William County's Potomac HS spent $15.3 million for an addition
with 30 new classrooms. They also worked on their stadium (see below).
Fauquier HS opens a new, 83,000 sq. ft., four-story classroom building
as part of a continuing 3-year, $37-million overhaul of the school.
Richmond's Varina HS wrapped up a 3-year, $30-million renovation project.
Benedictine College Preparatory has moved 12 miles from Sheppard Street
in Richmond’s West End to the monks Abbey on River Road in Goochland County.
The Richmond property was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, and the
Abbey's campus size will grow from two acres to 50. But the basketball team
will still play in Richmond for the next three years.
Va. Beach's Floyd Kellam HS will move down the road a piece sometime in
early 2013 into a new 2-story, 336,410 sq. ft., $102 million, 2,000 capacity
building. Strangely enough, the new stadium was ready by Labor Day.
Up in DC, the nation's first public high school for African Americans has
a sparkling new building, (Paul Lawrence) Dunbar moved out of their street-
blocking, prison-like 70's digs into a 280,000 sq. ft., $122 million, well-lit
masterpiece at First and N Streets NW, designed to hold 1,100 students (or
about twice the current enrollment). (DC got RIPPED! Compare the numbers
to Yorktown, which is less than 30 minutes away.)
In WV, Berkeley Co. opens Spring Mills HS, off of U.S. 11 and WV 901,
beside I-81, north of Martinsburg. They drew mainly from Hedgesville
(which will go back to it's original boundaries from the 90's) and some from
Martinsburg. The $53.5 mil., 2-story building holds 1,500 students in
288,000 sq. ft., (making it the biggest HS in WV). They open with just 900
in grades 9-11, and the Cardinals are playing a varsity schedule this year.
In KY, Winchester's George Rogers Clark HS moved into a new 260,000
sq. ft., $59 million building that holds 1,900 students. A Tech Center
will open next year and the old HS will be remodeled into a 'new' MS.
(Stadium info is below.)
Up (to me) in Martin Co., the 5-year-old talk of renovating an old MS
into a "new" Martin Co. HS, which would replace Sheldon Clark, came to an
abrupt end around July 31st. A year's worth of blasting nearby for a new
courthouse has caused (more) damage to SC, but the discovery of boulders
in the parking lot, along with an interior inspection which found a lot of
(increased) cracking, led to the building being deemed unsafe, forcing a
mass student movement. The 600 SC high schoolers were moved to Inez MS,
and the 400 IMS kids were added into Warfield MS. No long-term plan has
been announced yet.
In TN, Sevier County opens Northview Academy (on 33 acres on Highway 66
in Kodak), which pulls futire students from the Sevier County & Seymour High
zones. The $30-ish million, 170,000-ish sq. ft. building holds up to 1,200
students, but starts with way fewer than that. They open up with just 7-9th
graders add will a grade for the next three years, when they expect to have
under 600 students. The Cougars start out with both a Freshmen and a MS
football team and epect to field a varsity squad in 2015.
http://www.na.sevier.org/athletics/football
NC adds the independent Carolina Gladiators, a first-year non-profit
organization open to area home-school, private school and public school
kids in the Asheville area.
DC closed Spingarn High.
Here's a look ahead at planned and proposed construction which I know of :
Dickenson Co.
2015 - In lieu of floodproofing work at Haysi High and other schools, the
Army Corps of Engineers approved a plan to consolidate Clintwood, Ervinton &
Haysi Highs into a new $102.5 Mil. (was $110) HS/MS/tech center complex on 107
acres on Rose Ridge (near WDIC & Flannagan Dam), about 5 miles up the mountain
from the former Clinchco ES. (An additional $1 Million-ish in upgrades were
added in early 2013 for artificial turf on the football field, more parking
spaces for the 3,500-seat stadium, brick veneer at the stadium and athletic
fields, more bleachers in the gym [which was planned to only hold around 1900,
about 400 fewer than Clinchco), and an extended warranty on the roof.
The schools will be connected in one large building of about 260,000 sq. ft.
and will hold about 1,400 students (the ADMs of the three HSs in March 2012 was
700; back in 1973, Clintwood had 763). The MS & HS will be on opposite ends of
the building, with a shared gymnasium, 450 capacity auditorium, cafeteria & arts
area in the middle. The MS will have 1 floor each for 6th, 7th & 8th grade. The
3rd floor of the HS will be a 9th grade "academy". All classrooms will face to
the north or south. Groundbreaking was held in early August, 2013
The Ridgeview Wolfpack’s colors will be black, silver and turquoise.
(Don't look for them at ridgeviewwolfpack.com... a Cali Wolf Pack has it.)
The new $8.1 million, 600 student Clinchco/Sandlick ES will be at another,
still TBD location, possibly on Backbone Ridge.
2014 - complete a $70 Mil. renovation / 80,000 sq. ft. addition to
George Marshall (between Falls Church & Tyson's Corner)
2014 ? - Bland Co. HAD decided to do renovations instead of consolidating Bland
& Rocky Gap High Schools @ Bastian, because the $31 Mil. project would've
increased property taxes by 62%. NOW, they've decided to also look at
having the consolidated HS at Rocky Gap. Considering the small size of
the schools, it wouldn't be too hard to do it in just one Summer.
2014 ? - A $40 Mil. replacement building for Washington & Lee (Montross)
2015 (Jan) - Culpeper County HS should finish a $15.9 million renovation project
2015 - Louisa Co. will open the new LCHS at the site of the former HS,
which was closed in August, 2011 after being damaged by a 5.8-magnitude
earthquake. The building should come down this Fall. (The county said
over $16 million in damage was done to nearly 1,400 homes, and $61.6 Mil.
in damage was done to schools, including $44 million to LCHS.)
2015 - Richmond Co. shot down the idea of a $23 Mil. replacement building
for Rappahannock HS in Dec.; instead, they'll spend $15 million to
add a wing to Rappahannock HS (numbers that makes KFC VERY jealous)
add onto Rapp. ES, and do renovations at both so they can close the MS.
2015 - Henrico HS should finish a $30 million renovation project -
one building will be added, four will be demolished
2015 ? - A $35.5 Mil., 900 student replacement building for Amelia County
($200,000 for 55 acres)
late 2015 - Stafford Co. - A 2,000 student, $66.1 Mil., 276K sq. ft., 3-story
replacement bldg. on the same property as the current Stafford HS (which has
around 2,000 now) PREVIOUS PLANS...
2010 - a new, 6th HS became...
2017 - an 1,800 student, $120 Mil. replacement bldg. for Stafford HS at
Leeland & Clift Farm Roads, near the airport in the southern part of
the county, then $68 mil. to convert the empty bldg. into a modern
Applied Technical Center to open in 2019 . became ...
2013 - A $5 Mil., 20K sq. ft. addition, then $31 Mil. in renovations by 2015
2015/16 - an $81 Mil., 252K sq. ft. replacement building for Richmond's Huguenot
2016 - Prince William Co.'s 12th H.S. at Independent Hill - $116 Mil.
13833 Dumfries Road, on Rt. 234 @ Walton Drive, just south of Hoadly Rd.
(May include $10.5 million for a "division-wide aquatics facility" -
a 116'x75' competition pool & a 47'x75' instructional pool.)
(A small cemetery was found in Sept. where the football stadium is planned)
2017 - Lynchburg looks to open a new Heritage HS $88 Million
268,000 sq. ft. includes an indoor track & 600-seat auditorium
Phase I would be building new athletic fields so the new building
can be put on the current fields
2017 ? - Frederick Co.'s 4th H.S. is WAAAYYY behind schedule - in Oct, 2013,
they bought 83 acres of land for $2.1 million at Fort Hill Farm,
near Evendale Elem. and Admiral Byrd Middle.
Estimating 1,250 students, $65 Mil. (orig. $55 Mil. & open in 2011)
2018 ? - complete a $14 Mil. renovation at Monacan HS
tbd - Richmond - renovate or replace J.R. Tucker
2016-17 - Chesapeake will spend $54.6 Mil. on Deep Creek HS
2017 ? - Chesapeake will add onto Oscar Smith
2019 ish ? - Chesapeake's 8th HS - in the Centerville Turnpike/Elbow Road area,
to relieve overcrowding, mainly at Indian River & Oscar Smith, plus
Hickory & Great Bridge, - $90 mil (was 2016... may now be 2022)
2018/19 - Stafford Co. plans additions at Brooke Point, Colonial Forge &
Mountain View
2019 - Prince William Co.'s 13th HS - $121 Mil. & 14th HS - $127 Mil.
2021 - Fauquier County's HS-4 ???
2025 ? - replace Princess Anne in Va. Beach
Fairfax County
renovation start schedule : Langley - 2014 West Springfield - 2016
Herndon - 2017 Oakton - 2018 Falls Church - 2019
2016 - Fairfax Co. will complete a $90 Mil. renovation of TJ S&T
(Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology), with the
$ coming from a new tuition fee of about $14,000 per kid per year.
2018 - Fairfax Co. wants a new high school in the SW (west of Centreville
HS) to relieve crowding at Centreville, Chantilly and South Lakes.
(The FCPS projected budget for 2015 exceeds $2.5 billion, which is more than
half of the county budget, but they're could face a $140 million deficit.)
Henrico Co. (neither project is funded in the current CIP)
2018? - HS #10 on Elko Road, near E. Williamsburg and Old Williamsburg Roads,
near Highland Springs HS & Sandston, to relieve overcrowding at Varina,
Highland Springs and Henrico. $81+ Mil., 1,850 capacity, 256,000 sq. ft.
(aka the East Area High School)
2019? - HS #11 on 205 acres on Kain Road, NW of Short Pump Town Center OR
North of Short Pump, between North Gayton Road and Pouncey Tract Road
(aka the western end HS)
Loudoun Co.
Due to the political climate of this area of NoVa, the process of finding a
suitable site for a school, the School Board negotiating a price, and getting it
approved by the Board of Supervisors now takes at least 10 years and an act of
Congress (or state Supreme Court ruling). Therefore, I'm just going to list the
"general" info on the new high schools unless a lot has been finalized.
LoCo added around 142,000 residents in the first decade of the 2000's.
Their student population jumped from 14,000 in 1991 to over 68,000 in 2012,
and is expected to grow at about 2000 per year. They've gone from just four
public high schools in 1996 to 15 now. The county schools budget for FY 14
is $841.7 million, with a local transfer of around $553.6 million. (VA has
cut spending by $695 per student since 2008). Total HS enrollment is projected
to grow by about 1000 per year through 2017. The SB's Capital Improvement
Program request for the next 5 years is $466.6 Mil.
- - - - -
Plans for a public charter (STEM) school for grades 6-12, The Loudoun Math
& IT Academy, died when the School Board denied their application in February.
And while the school "discussions" were dragging on over the past few years,
LoCo DID (kinda sorta) get a new high school THIS year. The Virginia Academy,
located off Rt. 7 in Ashburn, welcomed 40 Freshman into its inaugural HS class.
(They currently share a building with Community Church.) They offer a few
sports to start with, including freshman football. Their Associate Head Coach /
Offensive Coordinator /AD is former 'Skin & Steeler Antwaan Randle El.
Another private/church school is in the works to open next year. Loudoun
Christian HS won't be affiliated with a particular church or feeder school and
plans to have just grades 9 & 10 somewhere in the Leesburg/Ashburn area.
http://www.loudounchristianhigh.org/
2014 : The long-talked-about HS-6, which was planned for 2018-ish, will open in
Loudoun Valley Estates II, only about 18 months after it was bid out.
The Rock Ridge Phoenix will rise at 43460 Loudoun Reserve Drive in Ashburn,
beside Rosa Lee Carter ES, north of the Dulles Greenway, near the Loudoun Co.
Parkway and Ryan Road (near Briar Woods HS) and will primarily pull students
from Briar Woods. The 2-story, 280,000 sq. ft. building that'll hold 1,800
students (no Srs, some Jr's, 600 Fresh/Sophs to start) comes with a $90.2
million price tag. www.loudoun.k12.va.us/rockridge rockridgesports.org
2015 : HS-8 will be on 46 acres beside Belmont Ridge MS near Lansdowne, on
Upper Belmont Ridge Road, adjacent to the National Conference Center.
Riverside HS (nickname TBA) will be at 19019 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg,
and will relieve overcrowding at Broad Run and Tuscarora, and/or primarily
pull students from Stone Bridge, and/or pull some students from Briar Woods.
The size TBA building that'll hold 'just' 1,600 students (no Srs, some Jr's,
around 600 Fresh/Sophs to start) comes with a $100+ million price tag...
($75.26 million for the building, plus $20 Mil for the land [28 acres from
the NCC], plus grading.)
2015 - A $5 million addition to Freedom (South Riding) to add 160 capacity
2018 : $109 Mil. to replace the Monroe Advanced Technology Academy, putting them
and the Academy of Science in one building south of Leesburg, just off the
Dulles Greenway, between Gulick Mill & Sycolin Road s (was 2017 & $94 Mil.)
MATA will then be turned into alternative school in 2020 - $44 million
2020 : HS-11 $112 Mil. Dulles North area (?Brambleton?)
after 2020 :
HS-10 : the 3rd "western" H.S., near Dulles, possibly in or adjacent to
Lovettsville (was 2016)
HS-9 : $100 Mil. Dulles South area
HS-7 : 'Dulles South' of Rt. 50 on Goshen Road near Stone Ridge - relieves Freedom
across the state lines ...
2014 - Fayette Co., WV plans to "combine" Fayetteville, Midland Trail and Meadow
Bridge at Midland Trail HS. After $20 Mil. in renovations, FHS will become
FMS. (But the WV DoE wants Meadow Bridge to remain open for at least one
additional year.
2015 - Hardy Co., WV is renovating and adding on to both high schools.
East Hardy will get another 34,000 sq. ft. - $17.6 mil.
Moorefield will get 21,000 sq. ft. (25%) upgraded while the school's oldest
section (built in 1941) will be replaced with a new 80,000 sq. ft. building -
$21.2 mil.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"talking stage" (and rumors)
Alleghany Co. - considering renovating Alleghany High, $10-20 Mil.
Bedford Co. - May build a new HS & turn Liberty HS into a MS.
Buchanan Co. - a replacement building for Grundy H.S. near Poplar Gap OR
consolidating Grundy, Hurley & Twin Valley near the vocational school OR
near Poplar/Southern Gap in, say, 10 years / possible closure of Council HS
Henry Co./Martinsville - Talk of consolidating the school SYSTEMS,
but no high schools should close.
Mecklenburg Co. - discussing how to replace the aging Bluestone & Park View buildings.
(2016) - Chesterfield Co.'s "Bermuda" High (? at Branner Station ?) - $97 mil.
to relieve overcrowding at Thomas Dale, Matoaca & Meadowbrook, has been delayed
due to the economy. New plans call for relocating the Chester Middle students
to 2 other schools and using the CMS building for Dale's 9th graders.
- - - note - PPD... no longer listed in their CIP - - -
http://mychesterfieldschools.com/about/budget/capital-improvement-program/
Floyd Co., KY - South Floyd & Allen Central WILL consolidate before too long
in a new $24 million, 750 student, 113K sq. ft. HS at a site TBD
AC would house the Tech Center and Transportation and Maintenance Departments
SF would become an ES so McDowell and Osborne can close
Martin Co., KY - Will have to do something after the recent closing of Sheldon Clark
Madison Co., WV - voters did NOT approve a bond issue to build a new Scott HS
Stadiums / fields
Grayson Co. re-graded their field, added Patriot Bermuda sod and an
irrigation system.
Brookville opened their $500,000 Jim Whorley Fieldhouse.
Madison County’s Eddie Dean Field at Booster Park looks different now.
They spent $350,000 to replace the bleachers, raising the capacity from
740 to 1100, and built a new, bigger press box.
R.E. Lee (Staunton) went from Kentucky bluegrass to Patriot Bermudagrass
Wilson Memorial added a new scoreboard and started the season by giving
their home a name - Steven Geiman Stadium. (They had doubled their seating
and added more bathrooms 4 years ago.)
Fairfax County saw 5 more schools put artificial turf in their stadiums...
Falls Church ($1.3 Mil.), Lake Braddock ($1.2 Mil.), South Lakes ($1.17 Mil.),
W.T. (Wilbert Tucker) Woodson ($1.15 Mil.) & Oakton ($2.4 Mil. for 3 fields).
Last year, I thought McLean had been delayed for a year, but they weren't.
They still has 8 HS fields to go.
Potomac HS returns home after a year on the road to a renovated & turfed
Chuck Coles Memorial Stadium.
Middlesex HS begins a season of road games as they've finally broken ground
on the new $3.5 million, 23.2 acre Syd Thrift Athletic Complex.
Henrico HS did some electrical upgrades and field lighting.
Dinwiddie HS added a fieldhouse.
Va. Beach's Floyd Kellam HS will move down the road a piece early next year,
but the (new) Roy Ammons Athletic Complex, with seating for 3,500 home fans,
1,500 visitors, and Field Turf, was ready by Labor Day.
King William will name their field for former coach Roger G. Brookes III
on Oct. 25
Perry County Central (KY) leaves their old, 1,000-seats-in-the-floodplain
home and moves to a new 2,500 seat, SprinTurfed stadium behind East Perry ES.
The new Spring Mills HS near Martinsburg has artificial turf (possibly
Field Turf) in their new stadium.
Richmond's John Marshall HS thought they'd get artificial turf, thanks to
a $200,000 grant from the NFL's Grassroots Program through Washington's 'Skins.
But the application indicated that Richmond Public Schools would have to include
the rest of the cost (approx. $1 mil.) in it's budget as part of their capital
improvement plan, but they've been having $$$ problems (who hasn't), and this
year's amount for miscell. work on about 50 buildings was only about $1 million,
so the art. turf didn't happen.
This one's a bit twisty... George Rogers Clark HS in Winchester, KY was one
of about a dozen schools that received a $700,000 grant over the Summer (which
they had applied for last winter) from EcoSports Systems & the Community Sports
Development Council to put in a new turf field. But the school was moving to a
new location over the Summer, AND getting a new superintendent, AND a decision
hadn't been made about building a new stadium at the new school, AND they needed
to get the district’s approval AND raise at LEAST $300,000 (more like $500,000)
before the season started, so they asked for and got an extension of the 2013
deadline to use the money.
In Wise County, neither Eastside nor Union plan on leaving their stadiums
in Coeburn or Big Stone Gap, but Central has been using the field at UVA-Wise
since they opened. A possible $1 million surplus of the building money might
be used to improve Bullitt Park or as seed money for a stadium at Central, IF
the county Supervisors agree to let the School Board keep the surplus.
(Considering they just found out this year's coal taxes may be $2 million
lower, I wouldn't hold my breath.)
Arlington's Wakefield HS will soon get a remodeled stadium to go with their
new building. Some bleachers and the press box will be replaced after this
season, and the decade-old artificial turf will likely be replaced next Summer.
Fairfax County's Thomas Edison should get art. turf next Summer to 'match'
their recently finished $78 Mil. addition/renovation project. 2014
Loudoun County
(Can't believe I'm actually giving them a dedicated space for stadium stuff)
Due to the disparity in political views in the neck of the woods so FONDLY
dubbed LoCo, this is a bit complicated. The co. School Board wants artificial
turf fields and all the high schools, and included that in their CIPs, but the
LoCo Board of Supervisors don't believe it saves $$$ in the long run, and cuts
the amount they give. The SB wants $2 million per year for the next 4 years
to turf the 8 grass stadiums in the county, and the BoS under-funded the SB's
CIP for FY2014 by $16 million.
2014 - Loudoun Valley HS plans an $18.5 million all-sports-related renovation
project, including artificial turf for the football fields.
GW-Danville would like to remodel J.T. Christopher Stadium, but
doesn't have the $3 Mil. to do it yet.
Danville's Averett U. has announced plans to build a $6.5 million,
2000 seat stadium with artificial turf (independent of GW).
across the state lines ...
In KY... Phelps' former Hornet Field at the McCoy Athletic Center has a
$15 Mil. elementary school being built on it, so the Hornets will continue
to play their few "home" games about half-an-hour away at Belfry Middle's
Vipperman Stadium. A decision has yet to be made about a replacement field.
Lawrence Co. is still looking at art. turf "next year".
In Tenn., Elizabethton's 41-year-old Brown-Childress Stadium's bleachers
and locker rooms are getting in worse shape, and major work would also mean
coming into ADA compliance at T.A. Dugger Jr. High, so they're still trying
to decide what to do.
Down in NC, the playing surface at (Greensboro) Grimsley's Jamieson
Stadium is now Joe Franks Field.
ETSU won't hit the field again in the Mini-Dome, they'll be building a
new stadium, likely somewhere on campus. The top choices as of Oct. are...
1) near the soccer fields on the west end of campus, where flooding is common
2) at the facilities plant in the southwest section of campus