The Manassas City School Board is asking the city council to allow it to spend nearly $11 million on the largest office building in Manassas.

With the purchase, the city council threatens the school board to categorically fund the school division in future years if it doesn’t start constructing a new Jennie Dean Elementary School before July 2025. Historically, the city council — which funds the school system due to the school board’s lack of taxing authority — has given a lump sum of cash to pay for school operations, no questions asked.