Article date: September 29, 2000

School board may be interested in building bus facility at site.

By Ashley May

The Warren County School Board may be interested in building its transportation facility at the Avtex site if the Board of Supervisors is willing to allow it, School Board members said at a meeting Thursday night.

The School Board voted 4-1 to send a letter to the county supervisors expressing its interest in the site, which had been previously discussed. South River District member Linda A. Poe cast the only dissenting vote.

The School Board recently discussed the possibility of permitting the bus maintenance facility to locate at the site, but didn’t pursue it because the supervisors were unaware of the level of interest by the School Board, members said.

Fork District School Board member Kimberly M. Athey said that she has heard that the supervisors were willing to consider that use, but said the School Board has not heard from the supervisors in the matter.

"I keep hearing these rumors, and if they’re true, we need to be involved in that procedure," she said.

Board Chairman and Happy Creek District member John P. Oliver Jr. wanted the letter to express the School Board’s desire to locate on that property, but other School Board members said they wanted to know what the supervisors had in mind before making a decision.

The School Board is in the final planning stages of building a transportation facility next to the Criser Road School Board office, replacing one that burned down several years ago.

The School Board also voted to adopt a resolution concerning state and federal funding of school districts in the Lord Fairfax Planning District.

Drafted by Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman and North River District member Bradley K. "Brett" Haynes Jr., the resolution requests the state give more money to school districts.

Because localities only get revenue from property tax and a small portion of the sales tax paid to the state, and school systems cost a lot to run, localities have been under increasing stress to properly fund their school systems, the resolution says. They need more money and less strings attached to it, it says.

Shenandoah District School Board member Robert D. Kellam said he has been contacting area legislators for a meeting on that topic, and would pass that information to Oliver in order to schedule them. He said state Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr, was the only one whose response indicated he didn’t think he could help.

"He said he felt like he’d done what he could, but the county had not stepped up to the plate (to provide adequate funding for its schools)," Killam said.

"Until the county did that, he didn’t see what he could do at this time. And I can see where he’s coming from," Kellam said.

The School Board voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance, which will be presented to legislators at a planning district dinner in November.