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PLANNING SCHOOLS ENVIRONMENT EROSION
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Jefferson County Schools
(304) 725-9741
(304) 725-6487 Fax
Dr. Steven Nichols Dr.
Lori Stilley, President
Delores
Milstead, VP
Doris
M. Cline
Cheryl
Huff
Paul
R. Manzuk
The Honorable
James Ruland
Chairman,
County Commission
Jefferson
County Government
104 East
Washington Street
Charles Town,
WV 25414
Dear Chairman
Ruland:
I would like
to introduce myself as the new Superintendent of Schools for Jefferson
County. I hope in the near future to
meet you personally, and endeavor to find ways in which the school system and
County Commission can best work together for the children we both serve and
their families.
Today I write
to express concerns I have about the development of this community and the
inability of schools to keep pace. This
morning’s mail contained notice of a subdivision review meeting to be held by
the Planning Commission. This document
informs me there are likely to be an additional 469 housing units approved (if
all goes according to the developer’s plan).
While I am not
opposed to growth, I am facing a crisis in that as a school system I cannot
hang a “sorry-full” sign on our doors.
We must accept all children and at this time we are not able to keep up
with growth, even though we are working diligently to seek additional school
funding, supporting impact fees, and a host of other initiatives to relieve the
situation.
Presently, I
am offering some suggested changes to the existing county ordinances that
directly affect school population. I am
hopeful this will start a discussion that might provide some relief, while
still permitting growth.
Under the
Subdivision Ordinance (section 7.1) contains the following paragraph:
“Particularly under
the category of Social Impacts…adequacy of available public
and
private services to meet the demands expected from the subdivision proposal
as
fully developed. Statements of adequacy
from appropriate service agencies may
be
submitted in this regard.”
The Honorable
James Ruland
Chair, County
Commission
Page 2
I would
request that consideration be given to insert between these two sentences a new
sentence that addresses our school situation in particular, and other services
in general. That sentence should read:
The
development proposal should not be approved (except under very specific,
special circumstances) until adequacy can be shown.
Consideration
should also be given to the word “available,” since it might be more precise to
substitute “existing or planned/ financed.”
Under the
Zoning Review Ordinance (section 6.4 e) the awarding of points used in the
decision making process refers to simply “proximity to schools.” This is not the issue—the issue for schools
is simply space to house them, therefore, I would encourage an addition of the
phrase “with sufficient capacity for students generated by the project”
immediately following any ordinance reference to proximity to schools.
Certainly, I
can appreciate the challenge you and the Commission face, just as I’m sure you
can appreciate my challenges. I am
seeking some help with the growth of our school system at a time when adequate
funding does not exist. I am aware that
the changes I propose will have effects upon our county, but as the Board of
Education and I work together to address our issues; I am simply asking for
some assistance from the Commission.
Thank you for
your support and consideration of my requests.
Sincerely,
Dr.
Steven Nichols
Superintendent