Trenum Believes 13th High School Can Remain on Schedule

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Photo by Ashleigh Henegar Photo by Ashleigh Henegar

Brentsville School Board member Gil Trenum is hopeful 13th High School will open on schedule.

"I am optimistic” he said.

Prince William’s 13th high school is scheduled to open in 2020. There is just one problem, the School Board has not officially decided upon a site yet.

When the Stone Haven development in Bristow was withdrawn for a second time on Dec. 7, before the public hearing scheduled for Dec. 8, it brought up questions for the community. Primarily, how Prince William County Schools will get the site it needs for its high school, and if that high school could be delivered on schedule.

Trenum believes it can be.

For one thing, there is nothing to say that the School Board cannot buy the site that was originally going to be proffered to the schools. Once a site is obtained, it will be mainly up to the school division if they can deliver the school on time, but Trenum thinks it can be done.

“We plan five years. Loudoun does it in four. If they can do it in four, we should be able to do it in four," Trenum said.

Further, he said that Supervisor Lawson pledged to help move the process along speedily if necessary.

Karen Ulrich, an aide to Supervisor Lawson, said Lawson will certainly help if they hit any snags along the way, but they are not anticipating any problems.

“I really don’t think she even needs to do that. We have such great planning people,” Ulrich said.

Trenum also explained that the $124 million bond for the 13th high school is what some would consider high because it has to include money for site clearance. He said site clearance typically costs approximately $17 to $20 million. In the case of the Stone Haven site, they might have to blast hard rock.

According to Trenum, the School Board buys bonds over a period of several years, and must anticipate the total cost before they begin. For this reason, they find it easier to bond for more than they require rather than to come up short.

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