The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to give the school system $2.1 million for the first of many improvements slated for Christiansburg High School over the next several years.
The supervisors voted 7-0 to grant the funding at a joint meeting with the school board held Monday evening in the CHS library. The project will begin as soon as the funds are transferred according to MCPS spokesperson Brenda Drake.
She said that the initial money will cover the cost of putting turf on the football filed, rubberizing the track and design costs for softball field, concessions, restrooms and entrance upgrades. The completion date for that project is sometime this summer in time for next football season.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Miear has said previously that having a turf field is a necessary addition for the school as fields are often too muddy to use.
“A lot of people look at turf as being a luxury, but it’s not a luxury anymore,” said Miear at a June meeting. “It is what most high schools are doing now. It makes a lot of sense for the Christiansburg community.”
The next phase, which MCPS hopes will be approved in December, and is estimated to cost $1.8 million, would cover the construction of the turf softball facilities and baseball facility updates. That phase is expected to be completed next fall.
Miear has stressed that much of the Christiansburg strand schools are in need of improvements due to the age and size of the schools, and that the athletic fields at CHS are being addressed first because the funds are available now.
The funding for those two phases come from a portion of the property taxes that the county sets aside each year for the school system’s capital projects as well as the sell of the old Blacksburg High School to be finalized in November. The $3 million from that project will be paid annually with the first payment coming next month.
There are multiple other phases to the CHS renovation project with a current price tag totaling approximately $65-74 million. County officials have acknowledged that the number will likely go up as construction costs rise over the next several years.
The other phases involve building new locker rooms, concessions stands and a stadium entrance similar to the structure of the Blacksburg High School facilities.
There are also plans to build a new academic building, gym and elementary school starting in 2022.
