Projected enrollment spike affects New Kent schools’ CIP

With a projected spike in student enrollment on the horizon and numerous repair concerns looming, New Kent School Board members are forging ahead with a proposed $2.15 million capital improvement plan (CIP) for the next school year.

School finance director Haynie Morgheim presented 13 CIP projects, all but one penciled in for 2015-16, to board members during Monday evening’s work session. Topping the prioritized list is renovations to New Kent Elementary School at a cost of $1.06 million. That figure is the first of five stages of renovation work for the school proposed to take place over the next five years.

Other top priorities include roof repairs at George Watkins Elementary School ($50,000) and New Kent Elementary ($10,000) along with replacement of the New Kent Middle School gym floor ($125,000). Additional big ticket items are bus replacement ($410,000), New Kent High School Technology One-to-One initiative ($90,000), and replacing windows at the middle school ($90,000).

Resurfacing the tennis courts ($60,000) next door to New Kent Elementary is ranked sixth and has appeared on the list for several years due to the courts’ deteriorating condition. Board members agree the need for resurfacing is not in doubt, but an increase in student population at New Kent Elementary could keep repairs at a standstill.

“We have had several discussions in the past on what to do with the courts,” said District 5 representative Gail Hardinge. “Last year we talked about relocating the courts to the high school and using that area for parking spots and trailers with the increasing number of students.”

Superintendent of schools David Myers commented that the $60,000 figure to resurface looks better than a $300,000-$400,000 price tag to relocate the courts.

“I think resurfacing may be the best option as of now,” Myers said. “I believe there are a lot more things we could apply those funds to if we were granted that amount than the tennis courts.”

Hardinge chimed in, saying resurfacing would be a waste of money if current enrollment trends hold up.

“I just don’t want to see us resurface the area and two years down the line have to put a trailer there,” she said. “It would be a waste of $60,000 essentially.”

District 2 board member Dean Simmons, meanwhile, commented on the need for repairs.

“The county needs to see the big picture,” he said. “Instead of putting band-aids on it, we need to take care of it and find a long-term solution.”

A new $28 million elementary school, ranked for now at number two on the list but not part of the proposed 2015-16 CIP package, also prompted lengthy discussion. Although work is not projected to begin until FY2020-21, the new school has been listed in a prominent position to address a projected student increase in the school system and to bring to the attention of county officials and the public potential consequences of the enrollment situation, Myers said.

Employing a four-pronged formula that uses live birth rates in the county, kindergarten distribution averages, the school’s average daily membership (ADM), and the county’s population stemming from certificates of occupancy and new dwellings, overall enrollment of 3,034 students is expected at all four schools in 2015-16, Morgheim said. Current enrollment is 2,983.

According to the financial consultant, an influx of students is expected in 2016-17 due to a high birth rate in 2009. Projected numbers have New Kent Elementary with an enrollment of 704 and George Watkins pegged at 694.

In 2018-19, those students are expected to fill New Kent Middle School to near capacity at 804. New Kent High School, however, can handle the influx, with enrollment expected to surpass 1,000 in FY2019-20. Overall, Morgheim expects total school enrollment to reach close to 3,200 by 2019-20.

Myers hopes county supervisors can see the trend that is driving up enrollment.

“In a recent study, New Kent was one of very few school systems to have a growing enrollment,” the superintendent said. “Only a handful of localities can say that.

“That is like a double-edge sword to us as well,” continued Myers. “On one hand, we will be receiving more funding from both state and federal levels, but on the other hand we will be dealing with a lot of capacity issues.”

Myers added that until a clear-cut decision is made to address the number of students, additional trailers may have to be brought in.

“It’s not ideal, but this is where we are,” Myers said. “We need a new elementary school, but after looking at the county debt, we have to do what’s feasible in the budget.”

By consensus, board members authorized Myers and Morgheim to approach county administrator Rodney Hathaway for input on the CIP list as presented. The list is to be forwarded to the county’s Planning Commission for comment in January. Whether proposed projects become part of the next school year’s budget depends on revenue available when budget-building takes place next spring.