ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606030037
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Even with all the courtyards, skylights and angled rooms planned for the new elementary school, one simple square room likely will pique the interest of county taxpayers more than any other.
The gym in the proposed school, school administrators said Wednesday at the unveiling of the design, could be a small facility and serve only the school's population of up to 750 students.
Or, it could be twice as large, and available for evening and weekend use by the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department for league games and other community events.
School administrators, shy of another standoff with the Board of Supervisors, aren't taking a stand one way or the other. They're leaving it up to area residents to make the case for a larger gym.
Inevitably, the Board of Supervisors will have to choose whether to pay another $350,000 for a larger gym, on top of funding a school that will cost $8.1 million.
Many residents say they'll waste no time in making their wishes known.
"We really need this gym," parent Bill Aldridge told the group of about 30 parents. "I coached eighth-grade basketball and we had to share the [Auburn High School] gym with girls volleyball. ... You can't compete very well if you've only practiced on half a court."
The new elementary school, which will sit behind Auburn Middle and High schools, is the first of four schools planned to alleviate overcrowded conditions in the county.
After months of often bitter negotiations between the landowners and the county, the Board of Supervisors purchased 40 acres of land for the school. Many residents insisted on such a large piece of land so that much-needed soccer and softball fields, tennis courts and other recreational facilities could be available to everyone.
Tom Bain, director of the county Parks and Recreation Department, said later there is a significant need for indoor and outdoor facilities. Children must travel to Christiansburg to play soccer, and other league sports are limited by available space.
"There is a need for additional gym space," Bain said. "One gym is not enough for high school basketball, girls volleyball, wrestling and then all the league sports."
In 1993, when the county constructed Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg, the town contributed half of the cost for a full-sized gym. That gym is used for evening recreation programs today.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Henry Jablonski, who represents the Riner area and attended Wednesday's meeting, told the group that Blacksburg had a dense population and a town government - benefits the farmland of the Riner and Bethel areas don't have.
"The board still has to face three other schools," Jablonski added. "I agree with the plan, but I think it would be difficult to convince the board to do it."
Aldridge said later that residents who support the larger gym plan to speak to the Board of Supervisors at its June 24 meeting.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff. color.by CNB