Editorial
Planning for the future capital needs of the Buena Vista public schools has been an evolving process. Everyone involved in this planning is in agreement that the century-old Parry McCluer Middle School is in need of replacement or serious refurbishment. Enderly Heights and Kling elementary schools are also seen as outdated facilities that should be replaced or revamped in the not-too-distant future.
Reaching a consensus on the right solution on the future of the schools has proven problematic as various proposals have been looked at over a period of years. Multiple ideas have been looked at, considered, debated and mostly discarded.
The two most recent of these ideas – a proposed combined middle/elementary school for grades K-7 that would have been built next to Parry McCluer High School and a proposal to convert the former Mountain Gateway Community College building on Vista Links Drive into a middle school – have been rejected for differing reasons. The proposed new merged school’s estimated price tag of $69 million was deemed way too expensive. The conversion proposal for the MGCC building was viewed as impractical because of the difficulty in meeting state department of education standards.
Interestingly, on the day after the school facilities committee opted to move forward with studying a new option – building a middle school wing onto PMHS – all seven candidates for three City Council seats expressed varying degrees of support at a forum for utilizing the MGCC building, at least temporarily, for a new middle school.
Although most of the candidates may have not yet been yet aware of the school facilities committee’s seeming rejection of the MGCC option, their support for it gives credence to the notion that this option is viewed favorably by the community and shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
We believe the MGCC building could still be considered as a temporary option, especially if another old idea is reconsidered – a restoration of the existing PMMS building. This historic structure was recently approved for inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources, making it soon to be eligible for state and federal historic tax credits. This could make restoration of this building as a viable school in the future more affordable.
If this scenario were to unfold, it might become necessary to move the middle school grades into the MGCC building on a temporary basis while major renovations of the PMMS building are underway. It seems to us that the shortcomings of the MGCC building as a middle school could be easily overcome, particularly if it’s to be used just temporarily for this purpose. The walls of classrooms are not load-bearing and can be moved to reconfigure the building. The entrance to the parking lot could be widened to better accommodate school buses.
The PMMS building, in use as a school for 100 years, is centrally located within a residential neighborhood so it remains a prime location for a school that can well serve the city’s residents. Thinking long-term, the building is large enough to accommodate all of the city’s elementary and middle school students, so perhaps this is within the realm of future possibilities. One thing we definitely don’t want to see is this building being abandoned and becoming an eyesore in the heart of the city. If it doesn’t have a future as a school, there needs to be a concerted effort to find a new purpose for it, such as housing or an economic development prospect.
For now, though, we think the idea of restoring it as a school should be pursued in tandem with the study of adding a middle school wing to PMHS. A full analysis of all of the feasible options is in order. We encourage everyone in the community to keep an open mind about all of the possibilities. May the best idea be ultimately chosen.
