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The historic New Kent High School was in operation in the 1930s.
NEW KENT – Elementary school students grades 4-5 could move into the historic high school.
The New Kent County Board of Supervisors met Friday, March 15, and agreed to meet with the School Board Monday about the idea, proposed by Supervisor Thomas Evelyn.
Evelyn explained that the county's Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) has included a third elementary school for the past three or four years, due to an impending crowding problem at New Kent Elementary and George W. Watkins Elementary schools.
"There are four trailers at GWES and one at NKES, and they are asking for a couple more this year," said Evelyn. "The two schools are getting crowded."
Evelyn proposed that Supervisors meeting with the School Board and discuss the possibility of moving the 4-5 grade students into the old historic high school, which first opened in 1930, with addition made in the 1950s.
The county is currently in a contract with Marengo Management Corporation to renovate part of the building for School Board and school staff offices.
"The money is already allocated to these buildings. We need to be fiscally reponsible to the tax payers," said Evelyn.
Evelyn explained that the county will look into relocating the School Board into a vacant building, such as the Colonial Virginia Bank in Maidstone.
Although the Hertiage Public Library has been in consideration for the renovated school, Supervisor Ron Stiers suggested that the county look at another building, namely an old warehouse building in Providence Forge, near the library's previous location. The former warehouse has 2,000 square feet in office space and 8,000 square feet in warehouse space.
According to Heritage Public Library Director Barbara Winters, library officials are excited about the "great potential" of the warehouse building.
"It's a great location because everybody goes to Food Lion, and it's near where we use to be," said Winters.
The Review will be following this story.
