Space utilization study in hands of School Board

WILLIAMSBURG — The problem for WJC middle schools may not be lack of space, but poor use of it.

The James City Citizens Budget Advisory Committee has spent the last few months walking the halls of all three schools to assess every nook and cranny to avoid new construction.

The committee shared its report this week with Superintendent Steven Constantino and his administrative staff. The School Board is next, as well as a rigorous review by school officials.

“A lot of this is not ‘big think,’” said David Jarman, a member of the committee. “It’s just: Can we be more efficient in our utilization of classroom space?”

They found readily available space by reconfiguring rooms. That will preclude trailers, new wings, or building anew –– for nearly a decade.

Last month the School Board looked at several options for overcrowding. It would cost $29.5 million to convert James Blair back to a school and build a new central office.

The School Board decided on trailers at Berkeley for now, but the Budget Advisory Committee is encouraging another look. Jarman said that if WJC continues to do “business as usual,” it will continue to erect small, fancy schools and “sub-optimize” space within them.

3 BIG OPPORTUNITIES

* Increasing class sizes by two students could free up 10-12 classrooms. That alone would accommodate 250 students, alleviating half the problem for the next decade.

It’s a move the school division is already considering to save money as it faces a $7.5 million operational shortfall. Increasing ratios by one student per classroom could eliminate 24 teachers and save $1.7 million. 

* Repurposing activity rooms, auditoriums, gyms, music rooms and art rooms could yield six additional classrooms.

David Jarman said his group found that WJC has historically overbuilt and created large open spaces and high ceilings throughout its schools. Eliminating some programs not essential to the core curriculum would free up space as well. “It’s a difficult issue because it trades off programmatic issues for space issues,” he said. 

* Optimizing full-size classrooms could also make more room within the school. Jarman said some classrooms are only used half of the day and that more efficient scheduling could lead to more efficient space.

Moving storage to an off-site location, converting teacher lounges into classrooms and eliminating non-teaching use of classroom space are other ways the committee’s report identified to improve use of space.

At Berkeley, 11 rooms are used for paper storage, while Hornsby has nine storage spaces for books. Berkeley also has one full-size classroom broken into five offices, and another classroom full of exercise bikes.

Posted comments are for meaningful discussion that is germane to the article. No personal attacks or insults. Submit complaints by clicking Report abuse.

Here is the original post:
Space utilization study in hands of School Board