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The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday approved construction grants worth roughly $365 million for schools across the commonwealth, including in Norfolk and Newport News.
The money comes from the $450 million appropriated to the School Construction Assistance Program, which passed during the 2022 General Assembly special session. The state Board of Education awards grants to local school divisions “that demonstrate poor building conditions, commitment and need,” according to meeting documents. The grants can go toward the “construction, expansion, or modernization of public school buildings.”
Among the grants approved were $21 million to Newport News Public Schools for its Huntington Middle School project.
Newport News has indicated it hopes to begin construction on the new Huntington Middle School later this year. The city plans to move the historic school several blocks south, while keeping the original facade intact to preserve the cultural history of the 87-year-old building. Huntington originally served as the city’s only high school for Black students.
Norfolk schools received two grants — $30 million for its Maury High School project, and $3.5 million for Booker T. Washington High School.
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Norfolk leaders have not yet decided whether to renovate Maury High School — built in 1911 and considered a prominent feature of the Ghent neighborhood — or tear it down and rebuild.
A decision is also yet to be made regarding the scope of the project of Booker T. High School’s renovation, which aims to ensure the school’s academic program offerings are in alignment with the building.
Suffolk will also receive $15 million for its John F. Kennedy Middle School project.
Grant applications were approved based on guidelines set by the Department of Education, which included 11 scoring criteria, ranging from the scope of the project to the condition of the building. Other criteria took into account the division’s need for the grant, looking at factors like the percentage of low-income residents in the locality and the percentage of students coming from low-income homes.
A total of 119 grant applications were submitted from Feb. 24 to March 31. The board approved 40 applications from 28 divisions.
The board also opened a 30-day review period to allow school divisions whose applications were not approved to appeal. After the review period is over, the board will move forward with opening a new application process to award the nearly $85 million remaining.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com