Due to the developers decision to indefinitely delay the Board of County Supervisors’ vote on the Stone Haven development, Prince William County Schools has decided to postpone the opening of its 13th high school to be built in Bristow from 2019 to 2020.
At Tuesday’s School Board meeting, David Cline, Associate Superintendent of Finance and Support Services, explained that the opening of the 13th high school in 2019 was contingent upon the approval of the Stone Haven development in north Bristow by the Board of County Supervisors by Jan. 20, 2015. That did not occur.
“Effectively, we are eight months behind where we would normally be,” Cline told School Board members.
The approval of Stone Haven would have ensured a site upon which to build the new school as well as a road leading towards the school, sewer and utilities: voluntary proffers estimated at $24 million.
With the fate of Stone Haven in limbo, Cline said the school division would not be able to ensure the delivery of the school within their usual five-year time frame; he believes it is best to delay the opening of the school on PWCS’s Capital Improvement Plan.
“The most likely scenario is that some resolution would come out of that,” Cline said.
Stone Haven could still be approved by the Board of County Supervisors. If that were to happen within the next year, he is hopeful that the school division could make the new 2020 delivery date.
The school division is already working behind the scenes on a “Plan B” location for the school. They will not discuss this property in open session in order to ensure that if they do bid on a property, they can secure the best deal possible.
However, Cline said that it is unlikely that another property would provide the ideal location Stone Haven did, which is near population centers.
Due to the Stone Haven delay, Cline proposed the School Board adopt "Scenario D" of the CIP adjustment. Scenario D is one of four options which alters the CIP to adjust for both the possibility of a Stone Haven delay and addresses budget shortfalls.
According to Cline*, this option pushes back the 13th High School by one year; the 14th high school, scheduled to open in 2020 by one year; and affects the populations of other area schools in order to balance the budget in 2020 and 2021. The recommended plan moves up a Lakes Ridge Elementary School from 2020 to 2029; moves the Patti Elementary School 10-classroom addition up from 2020 to 2019 and delays the middle school at Potomac Shores from 2020 to 2021.
Pushing back the 13th high school would also affect Battlefield High School in Haymarket more than it would affect Patriot High School. PWCS expects Patriot’s populations to remain steady over the next five years. Although Patriot already has 20 trailers, that number is not expected to increase.
However, Battlefield’s population is expected to grow significantly so that 2-3 trailers will be needed each year. Delaying the building of the "Stone Have High School," as Cline called it, would mean Battlefield would have 15-20 trailers by 2019 before the opening of the new school.
If ultimately approved, the Stone Haven site may possibly provide a site for a new west end middle school as well. However, as the site was originally proffered as recreational space, Cline said that the process could take a bit longer as the site proposal would need to go through all the proper channels.
The Stone Haven development was a polarizing issue during the Brentsville Special Election in late December. A large segment of the community objected to it on grounds of population growth, reliance on developers to build schools, increased congestion on local road and on I-66 and an influx of new homes that could possibly diminish their property values.
New Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson had said she would not approve Stone Haven without significant changes to the existing proposal.
*There is a discrepancy in that Cline’s description does not match the Scenario D as detailed on the PWCS website. Rather it looks most like Scenario B, except for the fact that it moves the 14th high school back by one year. Like Scenario B, the recommended plan moves up a Lakes Ridge Elementary School from 2020 to 2029; moves the Patti Elementary School 10-classroom addition up from 2020 to 2019 and delays the middle school at Potomac Shores from 2020 to 2021.
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!