BOCS Could Fund 13th HS PRICE Model

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Prince William County may get the PRICE model after all for their 13th High School to be built in Bristow.

The PRICE (Patriot Redesign Increase Capacity Efficiently) model is the hybrid model that includes aspects of the newer Patriot High School model and could accommodate 500 additional students.

Supervisors Pete Candland (Gainesville-R) and Jeanine Lawson (Brentsville-R) are requesting that the Board of County Supervisors provide the school division $9 million, the difference between the cost of the Battlefield Model and the PRICE model.

While Candland was intending to vote on the proposal at the Tuesday meeting, so to allow the school division to begin building as soon as possible, various concerns raised by supervisors and the board’s attorney led the board to delay the vote until Dec. 6.

Candland offered reasons his board should provide the funding for the larger model. He said building the bigger school met his board’s goal of reducing class sizes and school overcrowding, and cost was the primary reason the design failed to receive the school board’s approval. And, he argued the larger school just made sense at a time when  land within the county has become so scarce.

He also managed to make the proposal more enticing to supervisors from the east, such as Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi, a Democrat, by offering to amend to offer something to help reduce school overcrowding in other districts.

Candland said he would amend the motion to state the board’s intention to help an eastern elementary school acquire land. This could have been the olive branch needed to make the PRICE model a reality, especially considering the previous votes on the school board broke down mainly along party lines and pit east against west.

Yet, bipartisanship was ultimately insufficient to get the motion passed in one day. Although the PRICE model may still be approved by the board, it will either delay the school division or cost it more money to keep the school on schedule to open in 2021.

Supervisors did not want to rush the vote, because they wanted to make sure that the school board would not oppose the design even with funding. Maureen Caddigan (R), the Potomac supervisor, noted they could not legally dictate how they spent their money, nor should they. She asked to wait until they hear from the school board.

Other supervisors chimed in that there were other concerns about the school beyond its price tag, which could make the proposal unfavorable to certain school board members.

Additionally. there is a contentious relationship between the school board chairman and Supervisor Candland.

A new elementary school site on the eastern end could possibly sweeten the pot enough to change the minds of four school board members who previously opposed the schools, especially Lillie Jessie (Occoquan) who said that getting elementary students out of trailers was her priority.

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