[MeriwetherMatters] Special Issue: December 20, 2006

[MLS Matters]

TO:   Brownsville, Crozet, Meriwether Lewis, and Murray School Families
FROM:   The Office of the Superintendent of Albemarle County Schools
DATE:   December 20, 2006


School Facilities Planning in the Western Feeder Pattern

On a drive through western Albemarle County today the number of new homes being constructed will
catch your attention. New homes typically result in new students for Albemarle County Public
Schools. In the next five years, our school division estimates the number of elementary students
enrolled across Albemarle County will increase by 115 children. The Albemarle County School Board
is taking steps to prepare schools to house these new students. 

At its December 14, 2006 meeting, the School Board approved the school division’s five-year
Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This plan (CIP) spans five years and can be adjusted yearly to
reflect changing needs. The school division’s Long-Range Planning Advisory Committee, which
includes citizen representatives, analyzes a variety of information related to school facilities
and enrollment trends to create recommendations for the Superintendent of Schools.

In the latest CIP review cycle, the Long-Range Planning Advisory Committee completed its work in
September, 2006 and presented its recommendations to the Superintendent, who forwarded the
recommendations to the School Board without changes. The School Board reviewed the recommendations
and made adjustments to the CIP to prepare for current and future growth throughout the school
division while staying within budget limitations. The School Board revised the Superintendent’s
projected timeline and descriptions for some projects in the five-year plan.  One such revision
impacts part of the Western Feeder Pattern by alleviating overcrowding at Crozet Elementary
School.  Examples of possible adjustments include:
- Using the existing enrollment capacity at Brownsville Elementary and perhaps Meriwether Lewis
Elementary Schools to reduce overcrowding at Crozet next school year. This change would involve
some current Crozet students transferring to Brownsville or Meriwether Lewis next school year. It
would not involve current Brownsville, Meriwether Lewis or Murray Elementary School students being
transferred to other schools in the fall of 2007. 
- Speeding up the timeline for adding an addition to Brownsville School. The project’s design will
begin in the 2007-08 school year to add 190 seats for anticipated enrollment. The project is to be
completed by the fall of 2009. 
- Delaying the start of the Crozet School addition until 2012. By using capacity that exists at
other elementary schools now, the Crozet addition can be moved farther down the timeline. However,
construction to create separate car and bus staging areas, and new parking, will begin design in
fall 2008, to be completed in the fall of 2010. 

At its January 11, 2007 meeting, the School Board will receive a report for a timeline and process
for developing recommendations to redistrict current Crozet students. The school division’s goal
will be to notify in the spring of 2007 families whose students would be transferring for the
2007-08 school year.

School Board Policy FB (Facilities Planning) will guide the process for developing
recommendations. The policy calls for school division staff to develop options and present the
options to parents and citizens for formal input before a recommendation is presented to the
School Board. Informational meetings and on-line opportunities for public input will be provided.
The public input will be reviewed by the School Board. To read Policy FB, visit the school
division website at www.k12albemarle.org and click on the "School Board" link which will take you
to the on-line policy manual. 

We will continue to provide updates like this as the planning process proceeds to keep everyone
involved informed and to ensure that our parents and school staff have the opportunity to
participate in the public input process. For more information, contact your school principal or
Dr. Diane Behrens at 296-5877.


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