Image Courtesy of Prince William County SchoolsPrince William County School division held the second of two public input meetings to determine the location and design of the 13th county high school due to open in fall of 2020. Residents leaned towards the Patriot model and Stone Haven site; although there was much disagreement about Stone Haven.
Parents and interested citizens met in the auditorium of Patriot High School in Nokesville to discuss plans for the school intended to alleviate overcrowding at Patriot, Battlefield and possibly Stone Wall Jackson High School and Brentsville District High School. There were about 50 attendees in all.
According to Associate Superintendent of Finance and Support Services, Dave Cline, by the time of the opening of the 13th high school, Battlefield high school is estimated to have 18 modular classrooms or trailers as much as it had when Battlefield first opened. Patriot will similarly overcrowded, and both are already overcrowded today.
Dave Beavers, Supervisor of the Office of Facility Services, presented on two possible sites one in the Stone Haven development, near Devlin Road, and the other at the Rollins Ford Park on Rollins Ford Road near the overpass.
“Timeline for the decision is tight,” said Cline. “The purpose is for you to provide input and feedback”
Comparison between the old and new Stone Haven application. (Stone Have Facebook page.)Stone Haven
Beavers told residents a school site has been proffered by the Stone Haven development. It is an 84-acre site, sufficient for a high school and sports fields.
However, the Board of County Supervisors has not yet approved the Stone Haven development. That development would bring in 1,006 new homes near Devlin Road north of the Linton Hall corridor. Although the developer revised its proposal, the new proposal is still 200 over the number of homes in that area recommended by the county’s comprehensive plan, according to the school division. In the new proposal, the developer has eliminated proffers to widen Devlin Road to four lanes, though they are extending roads to complete a grid around the Linton Hall corridor. Any new adjustments may least to a further reduction in proffers.
Ultimately, the Stone Haven site rests upon the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approving Stone Haven. Approving Stone Haven would bring more residents, requiring services, including schools. The current Stone Haven proposal would bring in a total of 632 students, 192 of them high school students, according to school division estimates.
The pros of the Stone Haven site is that it is an ideal location to serve the population (although perhaps not ideal for traffic.) It is also ideal that there will be minimal additional cost to the school division because the developer is proffering the property.
The biggest challenge with this site is to get it. Stone Haven would have to be quickly approved, and new homes would have a long-term cost in educating students and other county costs.
Rollins Ford Park
Meanwhile, while the Stone Haven site was uncertain, the county arranged a possible land swap. The land swap would be between a 60-acre school site along Vint Hill Road proffered by the Avondale developer and the future Rollins Ford Park.
The idea behind the swap is that the 69-acres of land off Rollins Ford Road could accommodate a high school, and the land intended for a middle school or elementary school on Vint Hill could become sports fields instead. This would be convenient since the school site is located adjacent to the Grizzlies’ Sports Complex. It is also convenient in that Rollins Ford Road, a four-lane road, could handle the traffic. And, there are few trees to be removed from the property.
However, the Rollins Ford site is less than ideal in other ways. It is too small for all the all of high school sports fields the school division has recently been including on campus. For this reason, the school division would look into purchasing additional land. Water and sewer would need to be installed from across Broad Run at an additional cost. Loose soil intended for sports fields would need to be replaced with compact soil. The county has already spent $3.9 million readying the site. The school division estimates all of the costs to cost $15.2 million. However, as one woman pointed out, the school division usually has to include additional funds to ready a school site, so the $15.2 million is not out of the ordinary. Finally, Dominion Power could still choose to run high voltage power lines through the site.
If Prince William County Schools decides to go ahead and choose the Rollins Ford site, Stone Haven may still be approved in some form or another. However, if that happens the developer could instead proffer fields or a middle school site.
School Design
The school division was also seeking input on which school design to adapt. While the last two schools built, Patriot and the up-coming Colgan High School, use a design that is more modern and open, the school division is considered going back to an older model. The older model would look more like Battlefield High School or Freedom High School in Woodbridge.
While people generally agree the Patriot model is more pleasing, it is also more expensive because it is larger and needs to be larger to incorporate a large courtyard to provide for the natural light. According to studies, natural light can improve student improvement, and is both psychologically and physiologically beneficial.
The Battlefield model still incorporates some natural light, but keeps the school more compact and less expensive. Both schools would be able to serve 2,022 students. Most of those attending the meeting thought it just made sense to go with the bigger site, at Stone Haven, and the newer school model, but it was not unanimous.
School Design
There was more agreement that the larger Patriot-style high school would be ideal. People like the natural light and the feel of the school. The parents did not think it makes sense to go back to an older model. Parents who had children attending Patriot said they loved the feel of the school.
Students and teachers love the Patriot model, and the double cafeterias would be ideal so lunch periods do not become overcrowded. Plus, Patriot students are performing well, some of which, parents thought, might be due to the fact that the school is so modern, light and airy.
However, it is not certain that the Patriot model is even an option. Last year, the Prince William School Board voted upon and approved the Battlefield model. For the Patriot model to be reconsidered, a School Board member would have to ask for the newer prototype of the school to be reconsidered.
The choice of the Battlefield model is partly pushback from an expensive 12th high school that included an aquatic center. But it is also a response to tight school funds when additional funds are required for class size reduction and other classroom/ school division necessities.
Although schools are paid for over time, the less money that is tied to debt services means more money available to PWCS.
Site Decision
There was more disagreement on site location than on prototype model. Most people said they prefer the Stone Haven site. All things being equal, they said it is better than Rollins Ford because it was bigger, would cost less at face value and does not have so many “ifs” such as if it could accommodate fields. Plus, it saves money at least up front.
Residents did not like the idea of fields perhaps being off campus. And many thought the location was too close to Patriot High School. They thought a north Bristow location would be better and could serve to alleviate overcrowding at Stone Wall as well as incorporating new neighborhoods.
However, one man said the Stone Haven location would be bad for commuter traffic especially now that Devlin Road will not be widened in the near future.
When considering the larger picture consideration, of whether the Board of County Supervisors should approve Stone Haven, that posed a different question. Choosing the Stone Haven site is only possible if the Board of County Supervisors approves Stone Haven. And a few people took issue with that.
One woman pointed out that it would set a new precedent if the school division could choose a site and not be dependent upon the building of a new neighborhood and reverse a trend of being dependent upon developers.
However, the woman after her responded, saying that both the Rollins Ford site and the Avondale site were proffered by developers at one point.
Another person said that the Stone Haven proposal might be as good as it is going to get, so the supervisors might as well approve the proposal and get the school, since the neighborhood is likely to get built.
Representatives of the school division said they did not really want the residents to discuss politics, but to simply advise the division on what they would prefer. However, those following the Stone Haven issue knew that politics are now intertwined in a school site.
Another resident said the school division was being bias in its presentation of the “facts” about the two schools. It seemed they presented a better argument for the Stone Have site and Patriot prototype so it is no wonder residents choose the options they did.
One woman commented that at every other town meetings the Stone Haven proposal is very unpopular, something the school division and the county supervisors should keep in mind.
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