Leaders Affirm Need for New Stafford High School at Groundbreaking

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — Several local officials, school administrators, students and community members gathered on the future site of the new Stafford High School for the project’s groundbreaking ceremony.

This $66 million dollar Capital Improvement (CIP) project was a heated point of debate in the county for the past several months, as divided supporters lobbied for a renovation to the existing Stafford Senior High School, while others felt that there should be a new school built on the property.

The tension on site was palpable Tuesday afternoon, as the speakers focused on defending the decision to build the new school, versus the details and specifications of the project. This comes after several months of outcry about the decision to spend the funds on a new school, versus a renovation.

When the new building is constructed, the old Stafford Senior High School building, which opened 41-years-ago, will be demolished to make way for parking lots, athletic fields, and a new automotive facility.

Joseph Lewis, Principal of Stafford Senior High School, introduced and congratulated the class of 2016, the first class of students that will graduate from the new facility, while speaking about the design of the project.

“We spent hours upon hours with staff and students, talking to them about what they feel would be the best learning environment and what would be the best teaching environment,” Lewis said of the design process with the architectural and engineering firm, Grimm & Parker Architects and Hess Construction + Engineering Design.

Dr. Randy Bridges, School Superintendent, pointed out the upcoming challenges for the project.

“Along the way now there’s going to be some bumps – you’re not going to build a brand new $66 million dollar facility on the same site of the existing high school while the same high school is operational, and not have some challenges,” Bridges said.

Both Bridges and Stafford School Board member Meg Bohmke commented on the benefits that this new facility will provide for future Stafford students.

“One of the things I haven’t done enough of during this [planning] process, which I’m going to try and correct now, is to talk about the students. Once this facility is open, and there will be spacious classrooms for them to learn, modern technology for them to exercise their ability to gather information, the opportunity for our teachers to be in workrooms to have collegial conversations to make them better at their skill,” Bridges said.

“Students won’t be able to pass papers under their classrooms anymore, they won’t be able to hear the instruction going on in the classroom next to them. I don’t know how you teachers have survived here for so many years – you obviously have the ability to concentrate because you definitely have had some interruption over the years,” said Bohmke, speaking to a chuckling crowd about the issues students and faculty had with the current high school building.

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