School renovation, management and construction projects could cost nearly $800 million in the next five years and almost $2 billion in the next 10, according to a proposal submitted this month by Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Dale.
The proposed fiscal 2008-12 Capital Improvements Program details an array of multimillion dollar improvements for Virginia’s largest school district and serves as a blueprint for where the county will direct its resources.
Whether the projects are actually completed will depend on the school’s cash flow, which is determined in large part by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The board is preparing for a future of tight budget years caused by the cooling of the housing market.
Of the $794.6 million of expenditures projected for the next five years, $465.1 million are unfunded. Big-ticket items yet to be funded include $90 million worth of new high school buildings in the Dulles area, and a $87 million revamping of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Looking long-term, projections through fiscal 2017 put the cost of improvements at $1.97 billion.
“This [improvements program] outlines cost-effective capital improvements, such as modular buildings, aimed at meeting increased facility demands created by both growth and changing programs intended to address the education needs of students,” Dale wrote in a Dec. 21 letter to the Fairfax County School Board.
The School Board has scheduled a public hearing on the improvements plan for Jan. 16.
