Prince William County Schools shared this image of the front exterior of the 13th high school in Oct. of 2015.The 'Patriot PRICE model' was brought before the Prince William School Board once again for discussion, last Wednesday.
This will be the third time it has been considered by the school board.
The PRICE model (Patriot Remodel Increase Capacity Effectively) is the school division's preferred model for Prince William County's 13th high school, which is scheduled to open in the Brenstville District in September of 2021.
It is also the plan preferred by Brentsville's school board representative, Gil Trenum for the reason of low per-pupil cost.
To be fiscally responsible, Brentsville School Board member, Gil Trenum first proposed reintroducing the BattlefieldHigh School model back in 2014.
However, that model school lacked some of the more modern amenities people really liked about Patriot.
The hybrid model was Patriot without the unnecessary architectural flourishes. It retained amenities that provided much-needed space and natural light.
But, perhaps the plan's most important alteration is that it could house 504 additional students. While the Battlefield model still costs less overall, the PRICE model costs less per student.
However, despite those advantages, the PRICE model failed twice before the previous school board.
At the request of new school board members Willie Deutsch of the Coles District and Justin Wilkof the Potomac District, the issue was on the agenda for discussion again.
Some more changes were applied to the plan. Not only were there additional 17 classrooms, but additional auditorium seats as well and larger classrooms. Windows were halved to save money, but, the price tag still went up.
The school division still believes it is the better, most cost-saving option.
According to Associate Superintendent for Finance and Support Services, David Cline the Battlefield model had to be modernized and brought up to code.
That brought the cost differential between the two models to $10.3 million and the PRICE model included 504 more seats.
To Gainesville school board member Alyson Satterwhite the cost is worth it for the seats.
She noted the school would end up serving 2,500 students regardless of whether the schools offered enough seats for them or not. Moreover, the alternative, an addition to an existing school would cost twice as much as the $10 million differential.
Plus, over the next decade, the school division is expecting 6,000 more high school students, yet the division only has plans for two 2,000-student high schools. And, with land quickly disappearing in the county, there would likely not be a place to build a 15th high school.
Trenum, Satterwhite, Deutsch and Wilk felt the proposal made sense and said they would vote for it; however, some board members were dubious of it.
They noted the overall cost is $125 million, before land is even purchased. With land it could cost as much as $140 million.
Lillie Jessie of the Occoquan District said the school board incurred harsh criticism for building Colgan, would they also be criticized for building this school as well?
She also compared the CIP in the east to the west, saying there are more than 50 trailers in eastern elementary schools.
“I think along magisterial lines because they elected me; it’s about equity for me, and it’s very emotional for me,” Jessie said.
Jessie blamed the Brentsville Supervisor, Jeanine Lawson, for not accepting the Stone Haven community and its proffer upon which to build the school.
Yet Cline explained the there is $85 million budgeted in the CIP for additions to schools on the eastern end of the county.
Deutsch added that he looked at the school “holistically."
“Equity might be a popular word for ‘how to get more stuff for my district’ but when you look at equity at the high school level there are five trailers east of 28 and 58 trailers in the west,” he said.
Chairman Ryan Sawyers said he had to think holistically, and yet he was not sure how he would vote on the proposal.
While he agreed the seats are needed in Brentsville, he also criticized Brentsville's Supervisor Lawson for voting against providing the schools with the $8 million they were expecting from the five-year plan.
Sawyers said he spoke with Lawson, who said she did want the "nicer high school for her district," as he explained it, but he felt there was a certain irony in that.
But Lawson's staff disputes that, and sent an email, showing Lawson only supported greater capacity for the school.
Sawyers said they could not count on the Board of County Supervisors providing the money the school division needs for these kinds of CIP projects or even telling the school board what kind of money they could expect.
“Our cash flows are so unpredictable," he said, explaining that what is worse than 'tax and spend' politics is when politicians spend without taxing.
And he stated there are needs elsewhere in the county, whereas Brentsville already has the highest cost per pupil school, The Nokesville School.
Loree Williams of the Woodbridge District said she remains unhappy with the hybrid model and would rather the division purchase a new plan that meets its current needs.
Diane Raulston of Neabsco inquired about redistricting, but Sawyers said they are not going to do that anytime before the 13th high school is built.
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