On Nov. 9, 2011, the Wythe County Board of Supervisors and the Wythe County School Board held a joint meeting to discuss a facility study, which evaluated the needs of county schools and education related buildings. The findings showed millions in repairs that the two boards will discuss to determine what must be done and how it will be funded.

Many Wythe County schools have been updated and repaired within the past several years. Overall, many of the repairs identified in this study involve ADA updates, additions of bus canopies and upgrading electrical systems. In total, the cost of the suggest modifications resulting from the study came to $31.3 million.

Five projects identified for Phase I with an estimated cost of $12 million. They included Rural Retreat Middle School, Sheffey Elementary School, Fort Chiswell Middle School, Speedwell Elementary School and Scott Memorial Middle School.

One of the major decisions to be made a Rural Retreat Middle School pertains to the Agriculture Building. Repairs are needed the exterior portions of the building including replacing the windows. The school board has been discussing whether or not to make the repairs or remove the building.

Another project at RRMS is replacing the gym floor. Like many of the gyms in the county, the floors and been sanded for maintenance to the extent that they are down to the nail heads, according to Dr. W. Lee Brannon, superintendent.

Spiller Elementary is one of the larger projects presented in the study. Due to the growth of specialized programs, the addition of more instructional space is necessary.

OWPR presented the boards with two options. The first would be an addition to the front portion of the school. This addition would provide a secured entrance to the school, relocation of administration and special programs, and more general instructional space.

The second option would construct a new school that would house some of Spiller’s students. A smaller school could be constructed to house students in pre-kindergarten through second grade, allowing more usable space in the existing school.

Some members of the Board of Supervisors’ members felt it would be more beneficial to construct some form of a new school rather than spending money to add to an existing school on a small, restrictive lot.

Fort Chiswell Middle School was constructed to provide more space for students at Fort Chiswell High School, However, during the construction, a portion of the plans were not completed because of budgetary restraints.

OWPR suggested the completion of the project by adding the two omitted classrooms, two more additional classrooms and a set of bathrooms. This would give more instructional space and make the middle school more independent from Fort Chiswell High School.

Other projects suggested included repairs and updates at all county schools such as secured entrances, occupancy sensors for classrooms, and exterior door and window replacements.

Maggie Poole, Board of Supervisors member, raised a question asking why consolidation was not included in the study. Chalmer L. Frye, school board chairman, said it never came to the school board’s mind because in general county schools currently have almost more students than they can handle.

In the discussion, both boards agreed the projects need to be taken care of but will take time. Many of the projects are things left over from previous repair cycles and were identified in studies in the late 1990s.

“I heard some one refer to this as a ‘chip’ we are working at but to me it looks more like a rock,” said Danny McDaniel, Board of Supervisors member. “we’ve dealt with chips now it’s time for a rock.”

Members of both boards acknowledged the projects will benefit some of the county’s more important residents, the students. Frye said the students are the future decision makers of the county and should be treated as such.

In preparation for evaluating the school board’s capital improvement budget, the Board of Supervisors requested Brannon arrange tours of each school for first hand accounts of what is needed. In addition, the boards will establish a co-budgetary committee to figure out ways to fund projects.

No decisions have currently been made by either board regarding what projects will be considered for funding.