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CCHS renovations still uncertain
The heating system at Culpeper County High School is shot, say administrators. The electrical system and roofing also need some serious work, and the final cost will likely range in the millions.
Heating and cooling systems typically last 20 to 25 years, Construction Projects Manager Hunter Spencer said. By contrast, CCHS is 39 years old this year.
“Lighting, roofing, the windows … there’s just so many things that should have been replaced years ago,” Spencer said. “We can patch it together and keep it working, which we’ll have to do until we can renovate the whole thing.”
But after years of talk and little funding, Culpeper school officials still have no plans for their most urgent renovations job. Next year doesn’t look promising, either.
The board’s biggest issue is the lack of a master plan, which would identify the extent of repairs and coordinate the work. But budget concerns led the board to reject a $126,500 contract to develop such a plan at their March 10 meeting.
School board members on Monday, May 12, approved a Capital Improvements Plan, which pledges more than $800,000 for various repair projects next school year. Faced with tight budget times, administrators left out funding for a master plan or the estimated millions in work.
Repairs to CCHS have been on the school system’s capital plan for more than two years, said Spencer. Previous plans even called for Culpeper schools to spend almost $2.5 million each year for at least five years. Spencer admitted it could take longer than that.
“At that age, it’s going to cost half of what it takes to build a new one,” Spencer said. “But that’s only a guess, because we don’t have a plan.”
With no master plan, several board members hesitate to vote for any repairs at CCHS, especially since Maintenance Director Geary Parkinson admitted the school could waste money without a master plan.
The capital plan approved on Monday night includes $300,000 worth of repairs for CCHS, including replacements to the chiller and the PA system. However, three of the board’s seven members voted against it, arguing that a master plan for CCHS should come first.
“I am opposed to using taxpayer funds for those projects without having some sort of assurance that those funds will be wisely used,” board member Leanne Jenkins (Jeffersonton District) said. I understand we’re in a desperate need for renovations at the high school, but I think it would be fiscally irresponsible of us.”
School board members will likely discuss CCHS with county supervisors at their joint meeting, scheduled for May 28.
“I certainly recognize the need for a master plan,” board chairman George Dasher (Stevensburg District) said. “It’s my every intent to find a way to fund and award that.”
Meanwhile, Spencer has his own concerns.
Culpeper Middle School, built in 1975, is next in line for serious repairs. But Spencer says that making the systems more up-to-date will eventually save the schools more money.
“If we replacing the heating system, that could save us money down the road,” Spencer said. “We could look at a geothermal system. We’re already getting an idea of how cheap it is at the new high school.”
E-mail the reporter at jpeck@timespapers.com.
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