Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 8, 1994                   TAG: 9412080029
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

MONTGOMERY STUDY URGES 4 NEW SCHOOLS IN 5 YEARS|

Riner will be the first area to get a new elementary school, followed by a new high school in Shawsville, then new middle schools in Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

"What you're getting is a study that went from a grass-roots effort to what we have now," said Superintendent Herman Bartlett on Tuesday. "It represents the work of a lot of people who worked very hard."

The Facility Use-Space Study establishes an educational yardstick by which all schools in the county will be measured. The last evaluation of county schools took place more than 20 years ago.

The new study accounts for growing enrollment, increased space needs for technology and new programs offered at the schools.

Private consultants conducted a preliminary study and presented it to the School Board last spring. The consultants recommended improvements, additions and new construction to almost every school in the county.

A committee of school employees reviewed the study, collected public comments and modified the document to reflect community concerns. The final study was presented to the Montgomery County School Board Tuesday night. The board likely will approve the study in January, then present it to the county Board of Supervisors for consideration.

"The public turnout went very well," said Larry Schoff, director of facilities, maintenance and transportation. "People asked good, solid questions, and were genuinely interested in the state of our schools."

The study includes four phases to be completed in five-year increments. Schoff estimated each phase could run between $28 million and $32 million. He said the only way he knows to fund such projects would be through bond referendums.

The phases are:

Phase I, to be completed by 1999: Buy land and build a new elementary school in the Riner area; buy land and build a new high school in Shawsville; buy land and build new middle schools in Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

Phase II, to be completed by 2004: Buy land and build a new elementary school in Elliston; convert Riner Elementary to a middle school; buy land and renovate Prices Fork Elementary; renovate Christiansburg High School.

Phase III, to be completed after 2004: Make renovations and additions to Auburn High and Middle School; make renovations and additions to three elementary schools in Blacksburg and four elementary schools in Christiansburg; make renovations and additions at Shawsville Elementary School. These long-term objectives are subject to change.

Phase IV, to be completed after 2004: Build new high schools in Riner and Blacksburg; build new middle schools in Christiansburg and Shawsville; convert Blacksburg High School to an elementary school and office complex. These objectives also are subject to change.

The supervisors supplied $60,000 last year to conduct the facilities study which examined all 19 county school buildings. The board plans to ask the supervisors for an additional $6,200 in supplemental appropriations for a facilities study on the remaining school-owned buildings - the Independence Secondary School, the School Board office, service department and bus garage.

One of the top goals of the Focus 2006 Planning Commission is to upgrade school facilities. Schoff said the four phases - if funded - fulfill that goal.

The study "will bring the schools' facilities up to the standards to which Montgomery County has established." Schoff said Wednesday. "Those are the standards we've set, and the standards we're reaching for."