$100 Million to Address Perceptions of Inequity?
November 21, 2012 — pwceducationreform
Last night the school board held an work session on the CIP to address school construction / renovation projects planned for the next 10 – 12 years. The meeting was called by Gil Trenum, the representative from Brentsville District. Mr Trenum, who more than earned his pay last night, stated that with increasingly tight budgets, any construction project not already begun was in jeopardy and that the school division needed to define it’s priorities for the next 10 years to ensure that taxpayer money is being spent to meet the greatest need.
Of particular concern to Mr Trenum was continued overcrowding in schools in his district. Patriot High School, which only opened a year ago, is already overcapacity and is projected to be more than 900 students overcapacity in 2016 with students who already live in PWC and already attend schools in PWC. Battlefield High School, located in Gainesville District, is also overcapacity and is projected to be more than 450 students overcapacity in 2016 with students who already live in PWC and already attend schools in PWC.
Mr Trenum’s concerns were met with what can only be described as disdain by several other school board members. I would write the exact words they used, but they so sickened me that I can’t. These school board members more or less stated that spending $100 million to build a school where there isn’t sufficient enrollment is perfectly acceptable