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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 18, 2005 Work Session with School Board 166 A W orksession of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors and Frederick County School Board was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, at 6:00 P.M., in the School Board Conference Room, 1415 Amherst Street, Winchester, Virginia. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman Richard C. Shickle; Vice-Chairman Gary W. Dove; Bill M. Ewing; Gene E. Fisher; Gina A. Forrester; Lynda J. Tyler; and Barbara E. Van Osten. STAFF PRESENT John R. Riley, Jr., County Administrator; Kris C. Tierney, Assistant County Administrator; Jay E. Tibbs, Deputy County Administrator; Cheryl B. Shiffler, Finance Director; Eric Lawrence, Director of Planning & Development; and Mike Ruddy, Deputy Director of Planning & Development. OTHERS PRESENT Dr. William C. Dean, School Superintendent; Lisa Frye, Frederick County School Board Director of Finance; AI Orndorff, Assistant Superintendent for Administration; Patricia Taylor; Assistant Superintendent for Instruction; Steve Kapocsi, Administrative Assistant; School Board Chairman Lawrence VanHoose; School Board Vice-Chairman John Lamanna; and School Board Members Richard Howett; David Zerull; Patricia Stiles; Don Butler; and Stuart W olk. Chairman VanHoose convened the worksession. ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS Director Lawrence reviewed growth in the County and the Urban Development Area. He advised that the UDA was the target growth area for the County with 9,500 lots zoned for residential development and approximately 3,000 of those lots are platted. He reviewed building permit activity through September of this year and stated that permits could hit 1,500 for the year. He concluded by encouraging the School Board to look at locating new schools in the Urban Development Area. School Finance Director Lisa Frye reviewed emollment projections for FY 2007 and beyond. She advised that five scenarios were reviewed with the lowest estimate being from the current population of12,223 to 19,725 in FY 2017 and the largest estimate being from the current population of 12,223 to 29,447 in FY 2017. Director Frye advised that the scenario selected for planning Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supervisors Worksession with School Board on 10/18/05 .167 purposes reflected a population of 12,223 to 21,656 in FY 2017. JOINT BUILDINGS & GROUNDS AND INSTRUCTIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING Stuart Wolk advised that the committees discussed school capacities of 650, 750, and 850 students with regard to new building construction. He advised that he Committee recommended the construction of elementary schools with a capacity of750-850 iflocated in the Urban Development Area. He went on to say that the proposed new Gainesboro Elementary School would have a capacity of750 students. Dr. John Lamanna stated that increased staffing is important to make these new schools work. Supervisor Ewing asked about the state staffing ratios. Dr. Dean responded that the numbers varied, but he could provide them to the Board although he did not have them at the meeting. He went on to say that Frederick County utilized 18: 1 ratio for kindergarten, first, and second grades. Vice-Chairman Dove asked to see the staffing totals based on the Standards of Quality. Dr. Dean responded that he did not think any school in the State was staffed only to the SOQ minimums. He stated that he could provide those numbers to the Board. Supervisor Forrester asked the School staff to provide the Board with a comparison of current staffing to staffing needs required for the larger schools. Assistant Superintendent Orndorff stated that the instructional needs drive the size of the school staff. Chairman Shickle stated that he would like to see square footage, today' s dollar construction costs, and real estate needs for the various sized schools. Dr. Dean advised that the real estate needs were different for the larger capacity schools. School Board Chairman Van Hoose stated that the School Board had requested that same information and staff is working on it. Don Butler stated that it was the School Board's hope that building larger schools would result in one less school being built or one less parcel being acquired down the road. Vice-Chairman Dove stated that the Board of Supervisors wanted to get land for schools as part ofrezonings. Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supervisors Worksession with School Board on 10/18/05 168 Chairman Shickle asked the School Board to put together a model for acreage needs. Vice-Chairman Dove stated that the Public Works Committee and Buildings and Grounds Committee could work on developing site needs for the new schools. Supervisor Tyler stated that she would like to avoid redistricting as much as possible. Patricia Stiles stated, going back to the discussion regarding the SOQ's, they would not affect Frederick County's needs. Supervisor Fisher stated that he would be interested in seeing the breakdown of part-time positions to determine which were travel positions and which were the result of difficulty in hiring full-time staff. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN DRAFT The School Board and Board of Supervisors reviewed the School's draft Capital Improvement Plan. School Board Chairman Lawrence Van Hoose stated that the School Board wanted to locate property for the new schools as soon as possible in order to purchase it in today's dollars. Vice-Chairman Dove asked if the Buildings and Grounds Committee had insight into the location of possible real estate for schools not listed on the C.I.P. Chairman Van Hoose responded yes. Dr. Dean responded yes and Buildings and Grounds will forward that information to the Planning Department. Dr. Dean went on to say that the acreage listed on C.I.P. were based on current size buildings and might increase down the road, based on the increased capacity size. DEVELOPMENT OF APPRO V AL/APPROPRIATION PROCESS Chairman Shickle advised that he and Chairman Van Hoose had discussed the approval/appropriation process and he tried to convey what he felt were some of the missing items. He stated that the language had been modified compared to what was in the agenda packet. He then reviewed the modifications: Step One: Project Identification 1. Need is identified. 2. Preparation of scope of project and initial cost estimate - funded with facility planning dollars in the School Operating Fund. 3. Introduce project to the School Board with recommendation to place the project on the Capital Improvement Plan. Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supervisors Worksession with School Board on 10/18/05 169 Step Two: Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) The CIP is recognition and justification ofthe need for a project. I. School Board approves the proj ect for placement on the school CIP. 2. Project is placed on the County Planning Commission documents. 3. Board of Supervisors reviews and approves the County CIP. Step Three: Project Approval 1. Board of Supervisors ' approval and appropriation of architectural & engineering and land funds and approval of a reimbursement resolution applicable to VPSA bond funding. 2. Bidding of project and acquisition ofland. NOTE: Land acquisition through purchase, proffers, or donation can take place any time up to the design and engineering phase. However, it is difficult to prepare preliminary scoping estimates without a defined land site. Step Four: Appropriation 1. Board of Supervisors appropriate funds for construction and remainder of proj ect costs. NOTE: Appropriation can be requested at the time ofthe budget cycle OR can be requested when the School Board is ready to begin a project - outside of the budget cycle. Step Five: Financing I. Borrowing to fulfill cash flow needs for six months. OTHER: 1. Project-specific approvals include approval by School Board of the plans and specifications for the bid document. 2. A ward ofthe bid for construction. This may require an adjustment in appropriation by the Board of Supervisors. 3. School Board authorizes construction cost and issues purchase order. NOTE: Presentations regarding the project can occur at various points throughout the process or upon request of either body. He went on to say that he chose not to look at this process as showing distrust or trying to micro manage the School Board and he and Chairman Van Hoose felt this proposal was their best guess regarding a possible solution. Supervisor Ewing stated that this process addressed his issues. Supervisor Tyler agreed and thanked the Chairmen for putting this together. Chairman Shickle asked for the Board's consensus regarding this proposal. The Board consensus was to approve this proposal. Supervisor Forrester asked about joint projects and how they would be handled. Chairman Shickle stated that he believed this process accommodated those projects as well. Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supcrvisors W orksession with School Board on 10/18/05 170 PPEA GUIDELINES ADOPTED BY SCHOOL BOARD Chairman VanHoose advised that the PPEA guidelines adopted by the School Board are what the School Board feels they should be to meet its needs. They have been reviewed by legal counsel. He suggested that the School Board be allowed to use the design, bid, build guidelines fo the Gainesboro Elementary School and use PPEA for either the Transportation Facility or thel2th Elementary School. He stated that the School Board would like Board of Supervisor consensus to allow them to move forward with the new Gainesboro Elementary School. Chairman Shickle polled the Board regarding what process they would like to see used fo the new Gainesboro Elementary School. Vice-Chairman Dove stated that he would like to see the PPEA process used, even if the School Board did not follow it through. Supervisor Ewing stated that he would like to see PPEA and he did understand the time constraints. Supervisor Tyler preferred that the project move forward through the normal process. Supervisor Forrester preferred that the School Board move forward through the normal process. Supervisor Van Osten preferred the design, bid, build process for the Gainesboro Elementary School. Supervisor Fisher stated that if timing was an issue he would prefer going the traditional route; however, he did see value in the PPEA process in that it put many services out for competition. Chairman Van Hoose polled the School Board regarding their support/willingness to use the PPEA process for future projects. The School Board consensus was to utilize PPEA for future projects. Chairman Shickle polled the dissenting Board members to see iftheir answer would change in light ofthe School Board's willingness to utilize PPEA for future projects. Supervisor Ewing agreed to allow the use of the traditional process for Gainesboro Elementary School in light of the School Board's willingness to utilize PPEA for future projects. Vice-Chairman Dove stated that he would prefer PPEA be used. Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supervisors W orksession with School Board on 10/18/05 .171 The Board consensus was to utilize the PPEA process for future projects. There being no further discussion, the worksession was adjourned at 7:50 P.M. \2QQ~O~ Richard C. Shickle Chairman, Board of Supervisors Minutes Prepared By: Qt C cj; !iL Jay . T bs Deputy Clerk, Board of Supervisors Minute Book Number 31 Board of Supervisors W orksession with School Board on 10/18/05