Report on the 1996 Bond Referendum Projects

Schools

More than 50,000 students, or one-fifth of Chesterfield County's population, attend its 59 public schools. Chesterfield is among the 100 largest school districts in the nation, offering a full range of services to meet the needs of all students.

Chesterfield voters approved a $174.8 million school bond referendum in November, 1996, that built new schools, added to and renovated older schools and provided new technology for classrooms throughout the county. The fact that the bond referendum passed by an 83 percent YES vote is striking evidence of the support the community shows for its public schools.

Maintaining high academic standards in a safe and respectful environment for learning, promoting community involvement in schools, using new technology and being accountable for continuous improvement are the focus of Chesterfield's accountability system. Completion of the projects approved in the referendum will advance the school system’s position in many of these areas.   Bond funding, supplemented with general fund revenues has allowed the county to deliver the improvements desired by the citizens.

New Schools

The new Spring Run Elementary school, located near the intersection of Hull Street and Spring Run Roads, opened in September 1999 with a 900 student capacity. The new facility provides overcrowding relief to Alberta Smith, Crenshaw, and Grange Hall elementary schools.  This school is a state-of-the-art facility that is fully networked with computers in every classroom.

Matoaca High School, located near the intersection of Woodpecker and Matoaca Roads, opened in September 2002.  The school houses up to 1,750 students with a sectional design to separate grade levels.  This school is a fully networked, state-of-the-art facility.

Additions/Major Renovations

In addition to building new schools, bond funds have been used for the expansion of existing schools and for major facility renovations. By 2003, the school division will have 59 schools and nearly 70 buildings totaling more than 7-million square feet under roof. Fourteen of those schools will be more than 40 years old. Twenty-six schools will be 20 – 40 years old. Only eight schools will be less than 10 years old. With an inventory of facilities having these characteristics, expansions and major renovations are vital to maximizing the useful life of the infrastructure.

Elementary School Additions/ Major Renovation Projects

Additional classroom space was added at the above elementary schools. In addition, work at Bensley and Wells included adding a new gymnasium, cafeteria and kitchen. Work at Chalkley includes adding a new media center and the media center at Wells has been renovated. In lieu of building a second new elementary school as originally planned, the School Board decided to renovate and expand Chalkley and Hening Elementary schools. Overcrowding relief can be more effectively handled with this approach rather than by building a new school.

Middle and High School Additions/ Major Renovation Projects

There were several major large-scale additions and renovations made to Chester Middle, L. C. Bird, Meadowbrook, and Thomas Dale High Schools. The schools were being expanded to create new or additional space in the areas of classrooms and some combination of gymnasiums, auditoriums, and media centers. Monacan High School was renovated to offer the Specialty Center Program for the Humanities at that location.  Electrical upgrades were necessary at the majority of the schools in order to upfit each school for technology improvements.

Technology/Major Maintenance Projects

School bond funds are also being used to implement the Technology Master Plan and major maintenance improvements. The Technology Master Plan defines standards for connecting all instructional and administrative spaces to local area networks in each school. These local networks would then be connected to a division wide-area network for data, video, and voice communication access. Bond funding provides for the technology infrastructure. With supplemental general fund revenues, this funding will help the school system move toward achievement of the goal of a 5:1 ratio of students to computer workstations.

Major maintenance projects generally fall into six primary categories consisting of replacements of roofs, flooring, and air conditioning/ heating and plumbing systems; painting; interior finishes and furnishings, and grounds improvements. Major maintenance projects at various schools continues on an on-going basis.

• Report on the 1996 Referendum Projects
• Overview
• Schools
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