This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Just over a week after it awarded the former Federal Executive Institute campus to Charlottesville City Schools, the US Department of Education has reversed course and announced that it will instead transfer the property to the University of Virginia.
In a letter sent Friday to CCS Superintendent Royal Gurley, USED management analyst Barbara L. Shawyer wrote the department believes “that UVA will meet Presidential Executive Orders and that the University best meets the Secretary’s priorities for property reuse.”
It was not immediately clear what US Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s “priorities for property reuse” are.
She referred to the federal agency’s anticipated dismantling as its final mission in a March letter, “My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”
CCS was set to receive the roughly 14-acre parcel along North Emmet Street at no cost through the Federal Real Property Assistance Program, which transfers surplus government-owned real estate to eligible organizations for educational use.
The federal agency’s May 9 letter said the department had “undergone staff reductions and work reassignments in the past 60 days,” requiring adjustments to programs including FRPAP “to ensure continuity of services.”
“Thank you for submitting your application for the FEI campus; we hope we can assist Charlottesville City Schools in the future on a different surplus property,” Shawyer wrote.
As VPM News previously reported, CCS planned to use the property to consolidate preschools and relocate administrative offices from Walker Upper Elementary School. The move — along with the expansion of Charlottesville Middle School (formerly Buford Middle School) — would have freed up other CCS properties for expanded alternative education and special needs programming.
“Our approval is based on the condition and requirement that a clear majority of the property is used consistently for PreK classroom use with administrative use secondary,” USED wrote in an April 29 letter accepting CCS’ bid to take over the facility.
UVA had submitted a proposal to use the property to expand its School of Continuing and Professional Studies — which offers adult education programs to the local community — as well as its ROTC programs. At the time, a UVA spokesperson told VPM News that the university had considered a joint application with CCS, but that the federal General Services Administration had rejected that idea.
UVA had not released a statement by publication time. CCS did not immediately respond to VPM News’ request for comment.
VPM News has also submitted public records requests to UVA, CCS and the US Education Department for further information regarding the transfer of the FEI property.
This story will be updated as more information is made available.