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Fredericksburg's next high school probably will be built next door to its current one.
The city's School Site Search/Selection Committee has narrowed its list of possibilities to two locations, including the James Monroe tract.
"We consider that property our first choice," committee member Kerry John told her fellow School Board members last night.
The group, which includes Board Chairman Barbara Miller-Richards and two city councilmen, also is considering the 27-acre tract that Ryland Homes is proffering in its tentatively approved Village of Idlewild project.
Members are waiting on preliminary architectural and engineering reports about the sites from SHW Group, the architectural firm that designed Maury stadium's field house. They will probably be ready later this week, John said.
She expects the committee will have a recommendation for the School Board at its July meeting. The board needs to pick sites soon, so money for both projects can be included in the City Council's five-year capital-improvement plan, which is expected to be approved this summer.
John said the committee favors the downtown site for the high school, because it is highly visible and convenient for students who want to walk to class.
If the new high school is built there, it possibly would go where the parking lot and baseball diamond are now, said Superintendent Dale Sander.
"That's all speculation until we get the engineer's report," he said.
The site is only 22 acres, which is on the small side for a high school. But the board might be able to save space by building a three-story facility, Sander said yesterday afternoon.
John said the site-selection committee also narrowed the list of possible sites for the upper elementary school to the Walker-Grant Middle School and Hugh Mercer Elementary School tracts.
Walker-Grant is the top choice, pending the reports.
Sander said he plans to meet with Mayor Bill Beck and city officials next week to "nail down" a construction timeframe, which should calm fears that the high school might be left out of the city's next five-year, capital-improvement plan.
"We need a new high school," Sander said. "If we pick up 300 new kids in the next few years, where are we going to put them? We're already adding three trailers to the high school."
The School Board also revised its five-year, capital-improvement plan to include some architect fees for its first new school in 2003-04 and its second new school the following year.
The update also adds construction funds for the first new building in 2004-05 and the second in 2005-06. This would allow the board to complete an upper elementary by its proposed deadline of August, 2005, and the high school by August of 2007 to relieve overcrowding.
The plan shows the funds as "to be determined," but school officials have estimated that the upper-elementary school would cost $11 million and the high school would cost $35 million.
In other business last night, the School Board:
Approved a new Parental Involvement Policy, which is required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It encourages parents to participate in their children's education.
Appropriated $40,000 from the General Operating Fund balance for this fiscal year to pay for the new playground for second- and third-graders at Hugh Mercer Elementary School.
Approved holding a work session on July 15 in the School Administration Building. Members will review goals and objectives. These include such things as recommended performance levels on the Standards of Learning tests.
Adopted health textbooks and instructional materials for all grade levels.