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By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Information is the key to building support for a capital outlay program at Rappahannock County High School, according to the county’s School Board.
Acting on this premise at a special session on Sept. 15, the School Board agreed to seek a joint meeting on October 9 with the Board of Supervisors to explain why the proposed $1.43 million construction plan is critical.
After reviewing designs and dollars with Superintendent Robert Estabrook and Assistant Superintendent Tom Campbell, the board members asked for an updated cost estimate, noting that the figures from architects Smithey and Boynton are at least a year old.
Typically, construction costs rise 10 percent a year, Mr. Estabrook reported.
The architects probably built in an amount to cover the time lapse between projection and construction, said Mr. Campbell. He added that Smithey and Boyton, a Roanoke firm with broad experience in school construction, knew where the county ranked on the list for Literary Loan funding and knew that the standard waiting time for such a loan is one year.
“To sell this project, we’ve got to have documented proof,” said chairman Beverly Massie. In addition to an updated price tag for the proposed high school expansion, she asked for current enrollment figures, data from both the U.S. census and Rappahannock’s recent school census on the number of children in the county, state requirements as specified in accreditation standards and the Standards of Quality for education and “what the students are being offered” at RCHS. “You’ve got to be ready for the questions . . . We’ve come this far. We’ve got to be prepared with those answers ” -
As of this Friday, Rappahannock will rank ninth on the list for Literary Loan funds for school construction and can expect $1.43 million to be awarded by the State Board of Education in December, or, at the latest, in January. After notification that the money is available, the county has 60 days in which to start the project by advertising for construction bids. If that time limit isn’t met, Rappahannock drops back down to the bottom of the list.
And before bids may be solicited, the Board of Supervisors must hold a public hearing and accept the Literary Loan.
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