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Long-Range School Facility Master Plan Update
Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBPCS) is committed to providing state-of-the-art learning environments for all of its nearly 67,000 students. Testimony to this is the fact that 31 facilities have been modernized or replaced since 1998. In 2007, a Long Range School Facility Master Plan was developed by a Steering Committee based on input from Virginia Beach residents. This comprehensive plan was accepted by the School Board in 2007 and provided recommendations that served as a guide for the division's Capital Improvement Program.
New Master Plan
A Steering Committee is now working together with the community to develop the new Master Plan that will guide the division’s facilities work for the next 15 years. VBCPS has engaged the HBA/Cooperative Strategies team, which has worked with more than 2,000 education clients, to provide professional demographic expertise that is based on industry best practices. The community is invited to attend any one of four upcoming community meetings to weigh in on possible scenarios regarding the funding and timeline for the next 15 schools up for modernization or replacement. Those meetings will be held:
- March 7 at Old Donation School;
- March 8 at Tallwood High School;
- March 14 at Kellam High School; and
- March 15 at Great Neck Middle School.
Each meeting will be from 6 - 7:30 p.m. and information shared at each meeting will be the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Long-Range School Facility Master Plan and how will it affect my school?
A school division's Long-Range School Facility Master Plan outlines a series of options, along with timelines, for renovating or rebuilding, when necessary, the school division's elementary, middle and high schools. The plan is data driven and takes into consideration the community’s feedback during the planning process.
What is the process for developing the plan?
The nine-month planning process includes the following milestones:
- Facility Assessments – The school division’s facilities team assesses roofing, heating, ventilation, cooling, windows, flooring, and plumbing of schools.
- Steering Committee Meetings – The steering committee provides oversight of data and process; assists in development of options based on data as well as recommendations from the community; and assists in planning communications.
- Community Dialogues/E-Town Hall– The community’s opinion is critical in the development of criteria and in prioritization of projects. The school division will seek input via Community Meetings as well as via an E-Town Hall survey.
- Recommendations – The Steering Committee will aggregate all of the information collected from the Facility Assessment and Community Dialogues to present recommendations to the School Board for their consideration. Ultimately, all information collected will be used to create facility recommendations which will be presented to the School Board for consideration.
What is the role of the Long-Range School Facility Master Plan Steering Committee?
- review demographic and facility data
- examine future trends that will impact educational facilities
- engage the community in dialogue regarding the future direction of building renovation/replacement
- formulate options to address school facility needs, and present recommendations to the School Board with regard to future K-12 school facility needs.
Who serves as members of the Steering Committee?
- School division administrators
- High school students
- Representatives from local colleges and universities
- PTA members
- City of Virginia Beach staff
- School Board members
- City Council members
- Virginia Beach residents
Click here to see the names of the individuals serving on the Steering Committee.
Can other members of the community and staff provide input to the Long-Range Facility Master Plan?
Yes. Virginia Beach citizens as well as school division staff are invited to attend Community Dialogues in the fall and in the spring.
At the Community Dialogues in the fall, community members will:
- review demographic information that will impact school enrollment;
- review school condition data;
- learn about educational adequacy and other factors that are taken into consideration in the assessment of a school’s condition, referred to as Total Condition Index;
- learn about the four planning areas as well as the projected utilization (capacity) for schools in those areas; and
- provide feedback that will help shape the development of prioritization of projects in the coming years.
The first Community Meetings were held:
- Nov. 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Kellam High School
- Nov. 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Old Donation School
The input collected at these meetings as well as through the survey were to develop possible scenarios for prioritization and shared with the Steering Committee.
The Community Dialogues in March will be to provide feedback on possible scenarios developed by the Steering Committee as well as to seek the community’s input on prioritization for renovation and replacement of schools.
The community’s feedback at all of these meetings will be critical in assisting the Steering Committee in preparing the Long-Range Facilities Master Plan that will be presented to the School Board in the spring.
Where can I access informational materials?
All of the presentations to the Steering Committee as well as supporting documents can be found on the HBA/Cooperative Strategies team website.
What are the four planning areas and which schools are included in each area?
These four planning areas are determined by high school boundaries to make the process of assessing and appraising school facilities more manageable. The schools included in the four planning areas – Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest regions – are as follows:
