Part 1: Overcrowded & Antiquated Schools
First of a 2-part special edition to inspire YOU to contact the Board of Supervisors.
Albemarle is a county that values public education, right? We literally surround Thomas Jefferson’s bold experiment of a public university, and our community’s wealth is high. So why is it that our physical school buildings are:
Overcrowded — 55% of public school students in ACPS now attend a school that is over-capacity. Almost 80 “temporary” classroom trailers are currently in use.
Antiquated — Our oldest schools were constructed more than 80 years ago, and the average age is now over 50 years.
Our kids deserve better! Family Council has written an Advocacy Letter that we have sent to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on Mon, Dec 2 in advance of their joint meeting with the ACPS School Board on Weds, Dec 4.
BUT… here is where YOU come in. We need LOTS of people to email the Board of Supervisors. Getting one letter from us isn’t going to do the trick. So, we’re making it easy for you to take action.
What To Do (The Quick Version)
Copy and send this email to the Board of Supervisors, please! We encourage you to make edits to personalize, but don’t let that hold you back. Their email address: bos@albemarle.org
Dear Albemarle County Board of Supervisors,
As an ACPS parent and community member, I am extremely concerned about the condition of our public school buildings:
- The majority of ACPS students now attend schools that are at or exceeding 95% capacity, with multiple schools well over 100% capacity.
- Almost 80 "temporary" portables are currently in use across ACPS without adequate plans on how to reduce this number.
- Much-needed school improvements have not been funded in recent years and are now desperately needed.
I support the Family Council request to dedicate additional funding to school capital needs. Please review their letter addressing these concerns and let us know how we can help.
Thank you,
[Your Name & Magisterial District]
Board of Supervisors = Key
That’s right… it’s the Board of Supervisors who are the critical decision-makers on funding of “capital projects” including school buildings. A process overview:
Long Range Planning Advisory Committee — In the alphabet soup of ACPS acronyms, this is known as LRPAC. The 12 appointed members review enrollment data & facility conditions, and then create a detailed written report every two years, often with updates during in-between years.
School Board — The members of the ACPS school board review the LRPAC plan, asking questions and sometimes adjusting the priority list as conditions change. A final “Capital Improvement Plan” (aka CIP) Request is sent to the Supervisors.
Board of Supervisors — The school board & county supervisors meet to review the CIP Request in early December. By the end of February, the County Executive (the County’s parallel leader to the ACPS superintendent) presents the recommended CIP for both school and county facilities.
Public — Along the way, there are lots of opportunities for giving input… and this year, Family Council is determined to generate a LOT of activity from families.
That’s why we want you to contact the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors! They control the funding available for school buildings. We need them to develop a strategic plan… how will they catch up with our many school capital needs?
BTW, “capital” in the CIP refers to the long-term physical assets including school buildings and land (see ACPS Capital Improvement Plan). We’re talking about big expenses to build something new or enhance an existing building, not just the routine maintenance costs. (Note: The maintenance / replacement of facilities, infrastructure like network technology & school bus replacement are also par of the CIP Request as “On-Going Programs”. That’s important too, but we’re not addressing those here.)
How Did We Get Here?
Let’s back up, with links to details for those of you who want to dive in:
Past Five Years — Each year, the Board of Supervisors funded only 40-50% of the School Board’s capital requests, so we are falling further & further behind! There are only TWO big projects currently underway (Southern ES and Center 2), representing the first new school buildings in over a quarter-century. Ms. Kumazawa explained historical CIP funding & how funds are allocated between school & county projects in the late-Oct school board meeting (PPT and video).
Wait… what about the Northern Elementary School? It’s included on the five-year plan, but Supervisors hand over money only for the first year projects… so the school is planned, but the funding isn’t yet in-hand.
Too Many Kids, Too Little Space — Ms. Rosalyn Schmitt shared updated enrollment data (LRPAC Oct 10 2024), including explaining how ACPS enrolled nearly 300 more students in fall 2024 than projected. (See video for details.) The capacity of our school buildings can’t accommodate these numbers (see comparison).
What’s in the CIP Request?
Here’s the final CIP Request that was sent from the ACPS school board to the Board of Supervisors. The school board wrote a very polite advocacy letter, too.
Overcrowding Solutions — The CIP request includes funding over five years for the projects in the dotted orange box:
An overview of each of these projects is in the LRPAC 2023 Report, except the costs estimated just a year ago have increased. “Land Acquisition” is simply a placeholder that would allow funding to be available should a desirable parcel go on the market… where ACPS is looking wasn’t shared.
We’ll be sharing a Part Two of this special Substack series in early January featuring the details on each school-specific proposal along with targeted advocacy requests. (Plus, we know LRPAC will be talking about HS Capacity at their Dec meeting.)
For now, here’s the Northern Elementary School, which had been proposed as an “essential” by the school board 3 years ago and won’t open until 2029-30, ugh:
Improvements — The CIP Request also includes much-needed improvements to MANY school buildings, including elementary, middle and high schools. With the capacity needs so urgent and funds in the County’s CIP “pot” limited, these upgrades have been pushed back and back, year after year. For example, here’s the Facility Assessment result for the elementary schools (Appendix H):
Even though the two schools rated as “Inadequate” were subjected to redistricting, these improvements were NOT funded last year. Even though Ivy Elementary is rated as “Poor”, funding for improvements aren’t proposed for the next five years. To repeat, these improvements are really needed!
We Need YOU.
Thanks for being interested in the details. Now, scroll back up to “What To Do” and DO IT… just send a quick email, please. In the new year, we’ll share Part Two with school-specific info… along with targeted messages for you to send to your specific member on the Board of Supervisors.
Notes of gratitude for Family Council volunteers can be left below (ha-ha), along with your questions and commentary. Let folks know how easy it was to send an email, or if you get a response! Follow along on Facebook unless you’ve sworn off social media.