Charlottesville City Schools was bubbling with excitement in late April when it learned it would acquire the Federal Executive Institute property at no cost through a federal program.
In its application to the Federal Real Property Assistance Program, CCS outlined plans to consolidate the city’s preschools and move some administrative offices from Walker Upper Elementary School to the roughly 14-acre campus on Emmet Street North.
“This is a generational opportunity. We transform the system with this one property becoming available,” City Manager Sam Sanders said at a press conference on April 30.
Just a little over a week later, however, the US Department of Education undid its decision and announced via letter to CCS Superintendent Royal Gurley that it would instead recommend transferring the property to the University of Virginia.
“The Department believes that UVA will meet Presidential Executive Orders and that the University best meets the Secretary’s priorities for property reuse,” Barbara Shawyer wrote, referring to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Shawyer, a management analyst with the federal agency, also said in the May 9 letter that the department has “undergone significant staff reductions and work reassignments in the past 60 days,” which have “necessitated some process changes to ensure continuity of services.”
FRPAP, which transfers surplus government-owned real estate to eligible organizations for educational use, was one of the programs affected.
The April 29 letter awarding the former Federal Executive Institute site to CCS was also attributed to Shawyer. No additional details about what changed in the 10 days between tentative approval and retraction were provided.
“When we received this email, the assumption was that it was going to be next steps on how this process was going to continue forward,” said Emily Dooley, chair of the Charlottesville City School Board. “So, you might imagine how all of our stomachs dropped and just absolute shock when the letter was absolutely not that and was instead a complete reverse course.”
With Education changing its decision, CCS is reverting back to a previous facilities plan that places the consolidated preschool at Walker Upper Elementary and keeps administrative offices where they are.
Dooley said that means the school division can no longer expand its alternative high school, Lugo-McGinness Academy, to the Walker campus. That subsequently blocks CCS’ plans to free up space at Lugo-McGinness for career and technical education classrooms.
Without those plans, CCS can also no longer expand New Pathways Academy, its alternative education middle school, or facilities for students with special needs.
“What we want to convey today is just how shocking and disappointing this decision was,” Dooley said on May 12. “But that said, we are committed to doing the work on behalf of our students in this community.”
She said CCS doesn’t plan to fight the federal government’s decision.
A spokesperson for UVA said in an email on May 12 that the federal change “came as a complete surprise.”
The university has reached out to the US Department of Education to clarify the reasoning behind the May 9 decision. After VPM News filed a records request under the US Freedom of Information Act, an automated message was sent: "Please be advised that the current average request processing time is 185 business days."
