ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240005
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
A LOT of Blacksburg children aren't going straight home after school. Are their parents and school officials worried about it?
Of course not. The kids are pupils at Kipps Elementary School, and the minute the school day ends is when the fun begins. The facility moves from under the Montgomery County school system's auspices to the Town of Blacksburg's Department of Parks. Its purpose shifts from education to recreation, and the students who stay late get to play with the really big kids - college students and older adults.
The Kipps school isn't the only one in Virginia being put to use after school hours. Gradually, many localities are recognizing that it makes no sense allowing school buildings - representing huge investments by taxpayers - to sit vacant more than half of the time. Many communities are pressing schools into service as child-care centers, meeting halls for senior citizens and civic clubs or other uses when school's not in session.
The Kipps school, though, is one of only a handful in the commonwealth specifically designed for a double life. In this respect, say architects, municipal planners and educators, it is in the forefront of a national movement.
It begins to address not just the issue of making efficient use of school facilities, but also the problem of the latch-key child, who doesn't have a parent at home after school, as well as the need of communities for common places for neighbors to interact and share activities.
Kipps is also an example of creative problem-solving involving a degree of interjurisdictional cooperation not always evident in our region. In this instance, Montgomery County had overcrowded schools; Blacksburg had a shortage of recreational facilities. Members of the county's Board of Supervisors, School Board and the Town Council put their heads together and agreed to a partnership that addressed both problems.
Since it opened in September 1994, the combination school-recreation center-park has become a popular ``in'' place. Thousands of people use its gym, basketball and volleyball courts, playgrounds, walking track, baseball, soccer and softball fields at nights, on weekends, holidays and in the summer. Birthday parties and other gatherings are held there, and officials say there have been no conflicts between county and town, schoolchildren and adults, as to who gets to use what when and what for.
The project has been honored with an achievement award from the Virginia Municipal League. It may not have gotten as much national attention as Blacksburg's high-tech Electronic Village, not to mention the Hokies' Sugar Bowl victory. But other jurisdictions, including in these parts, ought to be looking at Kipps - both as one model for using school facilities as community centers, and as a demonstration of what a little regional cooperation can achieve.
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