Schools may not be ready for fall opening
By Donna C. Gregory ASSISTANT EDITOR

School board members may be close to determining boundaries for the new Winterpock Elementary School in the Matoaca District (see story on page 7), but the school is a long way from being ready for students. In fact, school system officials say it may not be finished in time for the first day of school this fall.

"We don't believe we will be able to have it ready by the opening of school," admits Bill Bridgforth, the school system's director of construction. "We're certainly trying. We're cautiously optimistic, but a whole lot has got to happen."

Construction delays and bad weather could cause both Winterpock and Elizabeth Scott Elementary School in the Bermuda District to open late. "It was later being bid than we would have liked," says

Kathy Kitchen, assistant superintendent for business and finance. Land acquisition also took longer than expected. Fall rains and cold winter days have further slowed construction. "Mainly, we didn't have enough time from the beginning," says Bridgforth. "It took a long time to get the land contract completed. We were like a year late, getting it [the land] when we needed it."

However, despite these challenges, officials are still hopeful both schools could open on time, although Bridgforth declined to estimate the chances of that happening.

"We need to get through the month of February and this cold weather before we can give a fairly good estimate on if we can open on time," adds Kitchen. "If we can't open on time, then we will work with the school principals and others to come up with contingency plans."

One option would be to allow the students who are moving to Winterpock to continue attending school at Spring Run and Grange Hall elementary schools. Students would be grouped with teachers and classmates and then moved to Winterpock when the school is ready for occupancy.