CCHS repair talks return

Editor’s note: This story originally included the wrong day for the meeting. The joint meeting will be held Tuesday evening.

Asking voters to decide if they’re willing to fund renovations to Culpeper County High School will be up for discussion at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. in the forum at Eastern View High School.

“We had discussed at the last steering committee possibly going to referendum,” said School Board member Elizabeth Hutchins, who heads a group that oversees the 40-year-old building’s renovation.

Last month, the committee heard two renovation options for the 172,400-square-foot building. The first is anticipated to cost about $20 million and take two school years to complete. The second would cost $42 million and take up to 15 years.

Based on a preliminary report from SHW Group — retained by the School Board to create CCHS’s renovation master plan — the building is sound. However, the firm says many of the building’s internal systems, including the electrical, plumbing and air conditioning, are overdue for replacement.

According to SHW, the renovation would extend the life of the building about 30 years. Security, safety and energy-efficiency enhancements would also be implemented.

Hutchins said there are no plans to choose a specific path for the renovation at Tuesday’s session.

“As far as going to minute detail, that’s not the goal of this meeting,” she said. “We want to prepare for that and help the public understand what the needs are in the building.”

Also Tuesday, both bodies are set to discuss a possible consolidation of services. County Administrator Frank Bossio said that, too, will be discussed in general terms only.

“We’ve got to talk about ways in which the county and the schools can be productive in terms of saving money,” he said. We’re going to look at consolidation of services — can it be done better, can it be done cheaper?”

Want to go?
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors and the School Board will hold a joint meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the forum at Eastern View High School.