Washington County supervisors will have a public hearing Tuesday on whether to ask the circuit court to order an April 6 referendum so voters could decide whether to raise the local sales tax by 1% to fund school improvements.
Over 20 years, the tax increase could raise $200 million, according to schools Superintendent Keith Perrigan, which is the same amount needed for county school system upgrades, according to a recent assessment of school building needs.
There is no vote by the board on Tuesday’s meeting agenda, but County Administrator Jason Berry said in an email Monday that after the hearing, it will be up to the board “on what they want to do.”
Earlier this year, the state approved legislation in the biennial budget that allows every city and county to ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to pay solely for school capital projects. Previously, only nine localities could levy the tax.
Across the state, 47 localities have scheduled Nov. 3 referendums on the sales tax increase. According to state law, the Washington County Circuit Court would have had to order a referendum by mid-August to get it on the November ballot.
The supervisors held a July 14 hearing on whether to aim for a November referendum, with 15 residents speaking in favor of it and two opposing it. But the board tabled the matter to its Dec. 8 meeting, agreeing that they and residents needed more time to digest information on how the additional revenue for schools would be spent.
There has been some confusion as to whether such a referendum had to be scheduled during a general election, such as in November, or whether a special election could be held.
According to county attorney Brandon Snodgrass, state code section 24.2-101 allows a locality to hold a referendum in the form of a special election. Code section 24.2-682(a) states that such an election may be held the same day as a November general election, but Snodgrass said he interprets this to mean it does not have to take place the same day.
Jeremy Bennett, director of intergovernmental affairs for the Virginia Association of Counties, agreed in a Sept. 18 email. He added that the local referendum must be ordered by a circuit court judge.
Snodgrass told supervisors that the court must order a referendum at least 81 days before the election takes place.
At that time, the board of supervisors and school board were told that a judge would have to sign a referendum order by mid-October to hold the vote as soon as March, but the date has since changed to April.
During its Sept. 8 meeting, the board voted 6-1 to hold this week’s public hearing on whether to schedule a referendum. Supervisor David Matlock cast the lone no vote.
Matlock represents Damascus, whose high school has been mentioned as possibly closing and merging with another in the school needs assessment. He said he believes the push for a referendum is moving too fast, while it’s not clear to students, parents and other stakeholders how the projected $10 million in yearly tax income, collected over 20 years, would actually be spent.
A special election would also come with a price tag, while holding the referendum in November during the general election wouldn’t have cost any additional money, according to Derek Lyall, the county’s director of elections and general registrar.
Perrigan estimated the cost to be between $20,000 to $30,000 but deferred to Lyall on the amount. Lyall said Monday he estimates the cost would be between $38,000 and $45,000, based on the cost of the August primary election.
The superintendent added that he expects the school board to approve paying for the special election, and he said he would recommend that the money come from a fund paid for by students who live outside the district to attend county schools.
Washington County’s current sales tax rate is 5.3 cents per $1 of purchases, consisting of a 4.3-cent state sales tax and another 1 cent imposed locally. Any local sales tax increase would not apply to groceries or hygiene products.
A new revenue source for all schools is needed, Perrigan said, explaining that the local composite index for state aid to schools has changed, requiring the county to come up with more funding. The county increased school funding in its current budget, but it was not enough to make up for a cut in state dollars, he said.
Adopting the 1% local sales tax for education would capture revenue from visitors and travelers passing through the county on Interstate 81, instead of putting the total burden on real estate taxpayers, Perrigan noted.
Details of the school needs assessment and focus on the possible merging of 2 high schools
The 738-page school building needs assessment was conducted by the architectural, engineering and surveying firm Thompson & Litton, which is headquartered in Wise. It details about $200 million in proposed mechanical, electrical and plumbing needs at the school division’s seven elementary schools, four middle schools, four high schools and the career and technical education center in Abingdon.
But since the plan was released in early July, it has been overshadowed by community interest in the idea raised in the study of merging the division’s two smallest high schools, Holston near Damascus and Patrick Henry, just outside Glade Spring.
The potential “unification” of the high schools is being explored as a way to address declining enrollment while “creating opportunities for students that may be difficult to provide at two smaller high schools,” the assessment states.
During a July presentation to the board of supervisors, Perrigan said that as of May, Patrick Henry had 376 students while Holston had 225. Abingdon High had 881 students, while John Battle High, just outside the city of Bristol, had 603 students, he added.
Abingdon and Battle are in areas of population growth on the county’s west end, while population is declining on the east end, where Patrick Henry and Holston are located, county officials have said.
In early September, school officials released a question-and-answer document to address community concerns. It emphasized that “no decisions have been made regarding the future of Holston High School, Patrick Henry High School or any other individual school,” no votes have been scheduled, and no site for a potential consolidated school has been chosen.
Patrick Henry opened in 1960, while Holston opened in 1964. A half-century ago, the student population at each school was more than double the current numbers. The schools are a roughly 20-minute drive apart, most of it along the two-lane Virginia 91.
Perrigan has acknowledged that school officials have spoken with a couple of landowners about possibly buying property in the Lodi community, roughly halfway between the two communities along Virginia 91.
“A combined high school and Career and Technical Education (CTE) center could provide expanded academic, CTE, fine arts, athletic and extracurricular opportunities, along with new and modernized facilities. Students could take additional credits, have access to more in-house dual enrollment, and much more,” according to the document.
If the schools merged, one option would be to convert Holston and Patrick Henry into expanded middle schools for grades five through eight, the document states.
According to the facilities improvement study, if the two high schools remain open as grade nine-12 schools, Patrick Henry would need about $16 million in improvements, and Holston would need about $13.3 million of work, ranging from structural renovations and window and door replacements to HVAC, plumbing and electrical upgrades.
A Change.org petition opposing any plans to close the two schools had received 1,070 signatures as of Monday.
Systemwide capital improvement plans and discussions can be found here.
Holston High community speaks out against merger
On Sept. 3, hundreds of parents, students, alumni and others nearly filled the Holston High auditorium to tell officials during a listening session what they think of the possibility that the school could close.
Mike Rush, a former longtime county supervisor who represented Damascus, set the tone early.
“All you have to do is nothing,” he said to cheers and applause.
Rush said he would fight any effort to close Holston and merge its student population with Patrick Henry’s. Noting the growth of Damascus as a tourism destination catering to Appalachian Trail and Virginia Creeper Trail users, Rush said people from elsewhere see the community as a potential new home. They won’t want to relocate if the town loses its high school, he said.
Holston demonstrates great academic achievement, Rush said, and it’s driven by small classes with about 12 students per teacher. That ratio would become about 20-to-1 if the two schools’ populations were merged, he said.
Increased travel time would result in increased absenteeism and burden families with extra costs, Rush added.
Damascus Mayor Katie Lamb said the communities served by Holston and Patrick Henry need both schools, and leaders should work to bring in more residents and students. School and county officials should have reached out to her and to town council members in Damascus and Glade Spring before springing the possibility of consolidation on the communities, she said.
More than 20 students, parents and others said they oppose merging the schools, or at least want those making the decision to slow down and think carefully before acting.
Perrigan said officials need all the community input they can get. He emphasized that the recent facility improvement study is not a final plan and that no votes have been scheduled to approve a plan.
There will be no final recommendations on the fate of existing schools any time soon, as officials gather more public input, he said.
A listening session on the possible consolidation of the two schools also was held Aug. 28 at Patrick Henry.
The board of supervisors meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the county government building at 1 Government Center Place in Abingdon. View the agenda here.
