Private-Public Partnerships for Schools?

Now we’re talkin’!

The firm proposes a 30,000- square-foot higher-education wing that would be attached to the 1,800-student high school.

It is partnering with Germanna Community College, Mary Washington College’s James Monroe Center and Old Dominion University. The colleges are interested in holding classes at the site, said Doug Dalton, president of English Construction.

The proposal calls for initially offering night classes at the high school, and building the higher-education wing later. This would give college officials more time to gauge public interest and need for college classes. The colleges would lease the classroom space, saving Stafford schools money.

The firm also has partnered with the Rappahannock Area YMCA, which is interested in putting a YMCA on the site and sharing recreational fields with the school system. It also discussed selling a few acres to Dominion Power for a power substation or an e-house if they are going to follow the trend of having something more modular (you can find more information at https://bmarkostructures.com/modular-electrical-houses/), and about one acre for a private day-care center. That would leave eight to 10 acres of commercial space that could be sold or leased, Dalton said.

REDUNDANCY folks. The first person in local goverment who explained this to me was none other than former Spotsylvania Supervisor Rick Womble in an idea to use playgrounds as parks. Doing so would resolve the unfunded state mandate regarding park land in the counties. This one stands to save local government some $16.7million over 25 years, which isn’t much once you break it down, but it is a start.