Loudoun County needs at least four more elementary schools in the Dulles South area of the county, because of the increasing student population and projected growth, officials say.
“Ultimately, we’re going to get buried,” said Sam Adamo, director of Planning and Legislative Policy, referring to the need for even more schools based on the escalating development in the region, also known as the Route 50 Corridor.
To address the problem, the School Board is considering razing the Arcola Elementary School, built in 1972, or renovating it. Building a new school in its place would accommodate 900 students as opposed to the current 375, Adamo said. Renovating it would increase the capacity from 375 to 600 students, he said.
Some members of the board will meet with the Arcola community before voting at its Sept. 28 meeting. They are considering whether to:
* Demolish the school and replace it with a new school at an estimated cost of $19,130,000.
* Make renovations similar to Lovettsville Elementary School’s to increase capacity to 600 students at a cost of $8,650,000.
* Make those renovations, add a sprinkler system and make the building American Disabilities Act compliant at a cost of $14,320,000.
* Or make no improvements.
The figures are based on 2007 construction figures, a 6 percent inflation rate on renovation projects and a 3 percent rate on new construction.
Superintendent of Schools Edgar Hatrick said, “We’re torn about this. It has been a wonderful school for us over time,” he said. “Maybe it is easier for us to build a new school.”
J. Warren Guerin backed renovations or construction of a new school over making no improvements. “Leaving (Arcola) alone is not a good thing,” he said.
Students would be sent to Hutchinson Farm, Little River and Pinebrook Elementary School, the staff report said.
Arcola Elementary School’s future surfaced last year when the board agreed to accelerate construction of the Pinebrook Elementary School in Dulles South. Pinebrook is slated to open in the fall of 2005.
Thomas Reed, vice chairman of the board, said the situation is germane to that part of the county. “We have to take into consideration the reality of the South Dulles District.”
Chairman John Andrews asked the staff to provide a location map before the next meeting. “It’s going to be in the middle of sprawl or whatever you want to call it,” he said.
Adamo said developers have offered two school sites, and construction of a new school in place of Arcola would meet the need for a third facility. But a fourth school site would be needed in the near future. “The development applications currently in the review process could add an estimated 995 additional elementary-age students or at least 1.1 elementary schools (above and beyond the aforementioned elementary schools) to the area,” he wrote in the staff report to the board. The projection for the area is 3,893 new students.
School Board member Robert Dupree Jr. asked whether the school could be demolished and replaced within 14 months. Tom Sullivan, director of construction, responded, “If you all want it to happen, it would happen.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
* The Loudoun County school system has hired more teachers so far this summer than the total number hired all last year, 553 versus 530. Another 19 offers have been made, background checks are underway on 43 candidates, and another 20 are unfilled. The county particularly needs special education teachers.
* Former Sen. Charles Waddell and a group of senior citizens asked the board to turn the Loudoun County Public Schools North Street office, home to administrative personnel, to senior citizens. Andrews said a decision about the future of the building would be made in the spring when the occupants move to the new administrative building in Brambleton.