Not quite in session
New schools' openings delayed until November
By Katherine Peters CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Doland

After months in limbo, the new Winterpock and Elizabeth Scott elementary schools are now slated to open to students on November 7. Multiple setbacks will prevent them from opening at the start of the school year as planned.

Students will be transferred to Winterpock Elementary in the Matoaca District and Elizabeth Scott Elementary in the Bermuda District after a long weekend afforded by a staff development day and Election Day, said Kathy Kitchen, assistant superintendent for business and finance. Students and teachers will begin the school year as their own class at other district schools, allowing them to simply change locations in November instead of adjusting to a new set of faces. Some students will even ride the same bus for the entire school year.

"Obviously, our preference would be to have things open on time, but we've got a pretty good plan in place and have everyone ready to go," said Tom Doland, chairman of the School Board.

"With the kids grouped together, I think they'll handle it pretty well," Doland said. He also emphasized that there will be no disruption in curriculum, saying that the move "will be hardly a blip on the screen."

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Titling issues caused construction delays for Elizabeth Scott and Winterpock elementary schools, forcing the county's two newest schools to open this November instead of on the first day of school.

County officials are hopeful that the November opening date will stick without any further delays.

"We wanted to pick a date that was a little bit down the line so we weren't backing up every few days," said Marshall Trammell Jr., the School Board's Bermuda District representative.

The delayed opening of the two schools is not a surprise to school officials.

"We knew before the schools were under contract that they weren't going to make it," admitted Kitchen.

The site for the Bermuda district was donated by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), while the site for the Matoaca district was donated by a developer. In transferring the titles, however, county officials found that VDOT did not have a clear right to give the land until they had a release from the U.S. Department of Transportation, said Trammell. The school system could not gain right-of-way until the title issue was cleared, pushing back construction and leading to delays.

"That process just took a little longer than we would have liked," Kitchen said.

About 750 students will attend Elizabeth Scott Elementary School, alleviating stress from five different schools in the Bermuda District. Winterpock Elementary will be home to about 660 students from two schools in the Matoaca District. The projected numbers of students are based on recent boundary changes within the two districts.

According to Kitchen, the new elementary schools "reduce the overcrowding and leave a little bit of room for growth" in an attempt to provide for Chesterfield's swelling population.

Preliminary work on Elizabeth B. Davis Middle School in the Bermuda District and Tomahawk Creek Middle School in the Matoaca District is also underway. Both schools are on schedule to open in fall 2008.

"There's no reason for them not to be ready on time unless it's something totally unforeseen like a hurricane," said Trammell.