Suffolk council recommends site for new school

By Jeff Sheler
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 20, 2010

The City Council voted Wednesday to recommend a site in the village of Holland for a new elementary school to serve the southern part of the city. The Suffolk School Board is expected to make its own site selection tonight.

The council’s nonbinding recommendation, approved on a 5-3 vote, followed a report by city planning director Scott Mills, who described the Holland site as the most suitable location for a school to replace the Robertson and Southwestern elementary schools. He said the site fits the city’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan.

Council members who voted against the plan protested that the action would be perceived as an affront to the School Board, which has the final say in selecting a site.

“I have some concerns that we are not giving the School Board the respect they deserve,” Councilman Leroy Bennett said.

However, Councilman Robert C. Barclay IV noted after the vote that funding for new school construction must be approved by the council.

“To me it is a planning issue, and if the board decides on a site that does not comply with the Comprehensive Plan, it won’t be funded.”

The council and the school board have been working on separate tracks on the matter for months.

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wheres bynum?

Submitted by jq36475 on Thu, 08/19/2010 at 4:01 pm.

All these articles about the new elementary school seem to be missing one common thing...a statement from the Whaleyville boroughs school board representative. What is her position? Or is she yet again too busy to comment. I seem to remember her campaigning on keeping a school in Whaleyville...what was her vote??