Jones outlines schools building plan for Richmond

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones unveiled an aggressive plan to build four schools in the city by 2014 and start construction on the first in a little over a year.

Jones identified replacing Huguenot High School as a priority during a meeting last night with the Richmond School Board.

"I really have a desire, or want to suggest, building a high school in the first phase," Jones said. "We have not built a high school in about 40 years. I can say without fear, Huguenot definitely needs to be replaced."

Jones cited poor infrastructure and small classrooms as key reasons to replace the high school in South Richmond that was built by Chesterfield County and later annexed into the city. Huguenot opened Sept. 6, 1960.

School Board member Kim Bridges said about 85 percent of the city's schools have poor infrastructure. Richmond has not opened a new school since 1999, when Blackwell, Linwood Holton and Miles Jones elementary schools opened.

Jones said the city envisions a new, state-of-the-art high school that can accommodate 1,400 students and become a community facility that may feature health components or parks and recreation components. The city aims to begin construction on a high school in May 2011 with students moving in by January 2014.

School Board member Evette L. Wilson stressed keeping the student-to-teacher ratio low so that student achievement is not affected.

"As we continue to strive for success, small numbers make the difference," she said.

Jones' administration has made $150 million available for school construction during the next five years. In addition to the high school, the city identified two elementary schools and one middle school to be constructed by 2014; construction would start on the first elementary school by December 2010.

The decision on where the elementary schools and middle school would be built rests with the School Board, Jones said.

During the meeting, Jones discussed a timeline to move the discussion forward. He said he wants the School Board to decide by next month on the sequence in which the new schools would be built and to hold four community meetings in December.

Jones, who campaigned last fall on a promise of building schools, acknowledged that he has an aggressive plan for school construction. He wants cooperation between the city and school officials as they go about the planning.

"I don't want us to get hung up on the process, so that next year we're still trying to figure out what we're going to do," he said.

Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or .