The Charles City School District is looking for additional public input on the future of the High School facilities.
An initial survey in March showed that 72% of the respondents recognized needs for the building that hasn’t seen any major upgrades in over 50 years.
A community-driven task force has developed a series of recommended solutions for the School Board’s review and is now seeking additional input to determine how the district and board can best move forward.
Thus far, needs identified as critical to effective teaching and learning for students now and in the future include improvements to systems including technology updates, building accessibility, and spaces that support 21st century learning. Addressing the High School’s current heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is considered an urgent need.
Jerry Mitchell, Director of Operations for the school district says, “Most air handlers we have are original to the building. They have outlasted their lifespan by many years and you cannot get the parts to fix them anymore.”
In a town community meeting in May, Brad Leeper with Invision Architects, presented options ranging from fixing what you have now for about $17 million; to a combination of additions and renovations for about $33 million; to replacing the circles and other overhauls for upwards of $40 million.
He also cautioned the audience that waiting to make improvements and upgrades will increase costs.
The new, anonymous survey takes about 7-10 minutes to complete and will be available through the end of the day on September 15. To take the survey online, please visit http://www.charlescitysurvey.org.
