State Allocates $1 Million for Jamestown Gym Project

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, March 04, 2011

The Virginia Department of Education will allocate $1 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds toward the construction of an auxiliary gym at Jamestown High School.

The VDOE announced Wednesday it would allocate $229.6 million in QSCB monies to fully or partially fund 41 new construction, renovation or expansion projects in 33 school divisions across the state.

“These bonds will be put to good use in school divisions across the state to finance much-needed new construction – and renovations and repairs to existing public schools and facilities,” said Patricia Wright, superintendent of public instruction, in a press release. “These allocations will allow urgent and long-delayed projects to move forward and improve the learning and working environments for thousands of students, educators and other school division employees.”

The Jamestown High School auxiliary gym was approved in the Capital Improvement Plan by the Williamsburg-James City County School Board last year. The $2.5 million project will add needed space for physical education classes, team practice and playing space and recreational use. Facilities Manager Alan Robertson said that currently, some teams have to practice in middle school gyms, which pushes middle school recreational leagues into elementary gyms, and in some cases, space isn’t available. Gyms are used by boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, volleyball teams, cheerleaders, wrestlers and others.

John McDonald, financial manager for James City County, said the $1 million in bond money brings the funding very close to the target, and the project can now go out for bid. The county and city have also contributed to the costs.

The application process for QSCB monies gave priority to consolidation projects, projects eliminating overcrowding, projects in economically stressed localities, projects replacing facilities more than 35 years old, projects creating high-speed networks and projects in divisions that haven’t received prior QSCB allocations. Priority was also given to projects related to health and safety and projects on the waiting list for literary fund loans.

The Jamestown High allocation was the only award in the Historic Triangle.

QSCBs are issued by the Virginia Public School Authority on behalf of school divisions and localities. Divisions and localities are responsible for repayment of the principal, but receive direct federal subsidies to offset interest payments on the bonds. The program does not affect the state’s debt capacity. The allocations are preliminary until the eligibility of each recipient is formally certified.