Suffolk school plan clears panel, will go to council

SUFFOLK

Despite concerns that public input was lacking in the selection process, the Planning Commission has approved a school division plan to locate a new southern elementary school off U.S. 58, east of the village of Holland.

"This site is not perfect, but it's the best we have today," commission member Arthur Singleton said before the 6-1 vote Tuesday.

The proposal now goes to City Council for a public hearing and vote on March 21.

The plan calls for building a two-story elementary school at 100 Pioneer Road to serve 700 students in the southern part of the city. It would replace Southwestern Elementary, an aging school that is farther south.

Commission members approved the proposal after a brief public hearing during which a handful of residents questioned the site's suitability and voiced concern over traffic along U.S. 58.

Charles Daughtrey, who lives on Pioneer Road, said the 40-acre parcel has drainage problems that will take millions of dollars to remedy.

"A whole lot of money is going to be spent that doesn't need to be," Daughtrey said. He said a former school site in Holland village would make a better location.

Dave France, an engineer with Kimley-Horn and Associates, which advised the school division on site selection, said the location was chosen over 17 others.

"There may have been other sites that were more buildable," he said. "But they were in the wrong section of the city." He said the Pioneer Road site "was the one the School Board was most comfortable with."

Commission member James Vacalis, who cast the only "no" vote, asked School Superintendent Deran Whitney how much public input went into the decision on the Pioneer Road location.

"I can't say we've had direct community involvement on that site," Whitney said.

City and school officials have been wrangling for years over the size and location of an elementary school for southern Suffolk. Two years ago, the city rejected a school division plan to build the school on Copeland Road.

"I sympathize with people who are in opposition to this proposal," Commission member William Perry said. "But we've been considering this for four or five years. It's high time."