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SCHOOL BOARD PITCHES PUBLIC-PRIVATE

September 26, 2007 12:35 am

At a joint meeting with the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, School Board members proposed last night to place the responsibility of fixing Massaponax Church Road, where Elementary 17 is located, on the Public-Private Transportation Act once the project is funded.

The supervisors agreed to study the proposal and will report their decision in October. How the project will be financed is still yet to be decided.

This would amend the existing PPTA agreement with the supervisors and allow private contractors employed by the Board of Supervisors to manage the design and construction of the road without the School Board, Chancellor District Supervisor Henry "Hap" Connors said.

The School Board does not have the capacity to oversee the project, School Board member Gilbert Seaux said.

The 900-student elementary school, scheduled to open next fall, will be built on a stretch of Massaponax Church Road some officials have said is dangerous.

Originally, the county estimated a cost of around $4 million to widen and straighten about seven-tenths of a mile of the road, and add turn lanes and a traffic signal.

When the proposal failed to meet VDOT's safety standards, requiring almost doubling the width of the road, the cost swelled to $7.6 million.

Attendance lines already have been redrawn, and supervisors approved the school opening with minimal repairs to the entrance in the meantime. The stop light at the intersection of U.S. 17 is expected to be functioning at the school's grand opening.

The School Board still plans to use $4 million from school-acquisition funds, but says no additional funds are available. "Staff evaluated both our operational and capital budgets and found no additional funds that could be reallocated to this project without serious damage to programs or construction needs," Schools Superintendent Jerry Hill wrote in an Aug. 28 letter addressed to County Administrator J. Randall Wheeler.

With the rising costs and debate over who will fund the remainder of the project, officials have questioned whether the fall 2008 opening will be feasible.

Hill has said the county needs this school to open on time because further delay would result in overcrowding. The project is already several years behind schedule, he said.

At last night's meeting, officials reiterated the dangers commuters will face if the road isn't fixed, and county school buses have been rerouted due to construction on Massaponax Church Road.

Once the school opens, School Board members expect to have fewer than 20 school buses on the road, down from around 40.

Berkeley District Supervisor Emmitt Marshall said the main focus is fixing the road, even if it means putting off funding the project until 2009. "We should make sure that road is improved for the safety of the children that will be attending that school," he said.

School Board member Gary Skinner said road improvements aren't just for elementary school students but for Spotsylvania residents, too.

"That is a very dangerous road out there," he said. "This is also for just anybody driving."