Projects in the Capital Improvement Plan Reflect a Need for Equity in Facilities Throughout IWCS

Earlier this week, the school division hosted the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission for special tours of Hardy Elementary School and the bus garage. Both facilities have been identified for renovation or replacement in the Isle of Wight County Schools' (IWCS) Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  The county CIP, which includes the division's requests, is still pending approval by the Planning Commission and final approval by the Board of Supervisors.  

During the 2017-2018 school year, IWCS gathered input from the community to develop a long range plan for facilities.  We held community meetings, conducted surveys, and created a committee comprised of mostly parents to assist us with developing a plan for the future.  They were very clear in their feedback:  Carrollton is too crowded, the bus garage can't accommodate the longer buses, Hardy and Westside need to be renovated to keep all schools to similar standards. 


 


 




We have proposed solutions that are fiscally responsible and ensure equity and access for all students.  We paired a renovation for Hardy Elementary school with the addition of 5 classrooms (1 each for K-4).  Rezoning a little over 100 students from Carrollton to Hardy drops Carrollton Elementary's current capacity from 97% to 79% and keeps Hardy around 84%.  To alleviate crowding at Westside, we kept 4th grade at Hardy this year, which removed the need for trailers at Westside and lowered their capacity to 85%.  

 






While we are anticipating more growth in the Carrollton area, these solutions provide room for additional students and eliminate the immediate need for a new elementary school.  We wouldn't need to look at a new elementary school until the Westside, Carrollton and Hardy reached 95% capacity, which may be way out in the future, if it ever happens.

We have a great plan for Hardy, and not one that is just a band-aid.  The school opened in 1961, and if you walk into Hardy you feel like you've gone back in time to 1961.  The hospital green wall tile, dimly lit hallways, and a multi-purpose room that serves as a gym do not reflect the quality of teachers and students in the building.  People DO judge a book by it's cover.  Look at the outside of both schools.  Look at the gym, the cafeteria, the entrance-way, the bathrooms, for both schools.  With everything else being equal, where does a new family want to send their child to school?  Where are people buying a home?

As we met with both groups, we seemed to be faced with a wide range of opinions--do nothing, scale back the renovation significantly, go with the School Board's recommendation, or completely replace Hardy with a new school. The renovation and addition for Hardy Elementary is $13.4 million.  To replace Hardy would be almost $28 million, not counting land acquisition. The plan approved by the School Board would bring one of our oldest schools up to to modern day standards and address the growth at Carrollton Elementary.  Once again, the recommendations approved by the School Board were developed through an extensive process which involved numerous opportunities for parents and the community to provide input.  The proposal given to the School Board was generated by the Long Range Planning Committee.

We are committed to providing our students with opportunities to be successful in today's world.  We need our facilities to reflect the modern world to better prepare our children their future.