Competing interests for 2012 bond referendum
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Stegmaier

The 2012 bond referendum is four and a half years away, but competing interests and tighter county and school budgets may make funding issues more difficult than the 2004 bond issue. Turf issues are surfacing as the planning commission seeks more details from the various departments - particularly the school system about where new schools are needed and the future of the existing Clover Hill High School.

"How do you balance the needs for new schools and reinvesting in existing schools?" asked County Administrator Jay Stegmaier rhetorically at last week's meeting of the Western Chesterfield Business Alliance.

At least two supervisors have said the school system should put more emphasis on "reinvesting" in existing schools, although the school system is likely to want to make that decision for itself.

The successful 2004 school bond referendum totaled $231.2 million for five new schools and renovations to 13 existing schools. In addition, the school system used the Public-Private Education Act to pay for the $60 million Cosby High School.

The school system's wish list for 2012 calls for six new elementary schools, four new middle schools and three new high schools. In addition to the sheer number of schools needed to stem overcrowding, by 2012, the price tag to build those schools could double from 2004 due to rising land and construction costs.

But compared to 2004 when only $40 million was approved for road improvements, this board of supervisors is placing more emphasis on economic development and roads. Funding in those categories might cut into the school system's share of the bond referendum. Traditionally, the bulk of referendum dollars has been earmarked for schools. Chesterfield will also put a limit on the total amount of money it borrows to keep its AAA bond rating.

Typically, school bond referendums are passed overwhelmingly by making sure every district gets something: a new school, additions or renovations. Stegmaier cited 1988 when existing schools received air conditioning while funding for two new high schools - James River and Manchester - was also approved.

Some county leaders and planners think building new schools in more rural areas encourages sprawl. They believe residential development follows schools while the school board tends to build new schools where new development occurs.

Some members of the planning department look at the county map and point to the center where there is no high school. Children living near the Richmond city line must drive or ride the bus for long periods to Manchester, Clover Hill or James River high schools. The distance, planners have argued, means those children are less likely to go to the library or participate in school clubs or sports after school. One reason cited by some school officials for opposing a new high school near Hull Street Road east of Courthouse Road is the chain reaction it would set off for school redistricting - what school leaders try to prevent because of complaints from impacted families.

Most supervisors, planning commissioners and school board members are now holding joint meetings in their districts to promote unity among the three bodies and answer questions from the public, and they are hearing from homeowners about high property assessments. Stegmaier calls the decisions ahead "a challenge."

"We're working together as a team and functioning as a family," insisted Patty Carpenter, Midlothian's school board representative.

But some school officials see the county as meddling in school matters when it asks for information to help site new buildings. That feeling extends to the decision on whether to convert Clover Hill High School to a middle school.

"The board will communicate its plan for the school in a comprehensive manner to both the commission and the supervisors because we don't want to get into a battle in which neither side wins," said one school leader who declined to identified. "The pressure for a middle school is already there, but before a decision is made, there will be discussion with the supervisors. But since the school will be converted to a middle school, the [school system] doesn't believe it has to meet substantial accord [standards]."

There are many other groups also lining up for their share of 2012 referendum dollars. Some senior citizens, the fastest growing segment of Chesterfield's population, are lobbying the county's Parks and Recreation Department for a senior center, saying they are being overlooked. That department also wants to buy parkland of various sizes before the prices go higher. Other requests include three new police stations, six fire stations and six libraries.