Open Forum

South of the James: Eastern Chesterfield Continues to Take Its Place as a Hot Spot

by Conaway Haskins

Sunday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch broached the subject of Chesterfield’s fleet of trailers that double as classroom space for crowded schools. In the article, parents complained about their children sitting through instruction in them, school board members decried their lack of control of the process by blaming the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, and teachers actually talked of preferring the “learning cottages” to the larger school environment which is more distracting.

In general, the article seemed to come down against trailers, but noted their efficacy and lower costs versus building new schools. This issue has come up before in the local media as back in October, the Chesterfield Observer reported on the capacity issues that county schools face, with nearly 300 trailers in use. However, in southern and western Chesterfield, Matoaca High School was notably under its capacity at the time.

On the surface, it would seem that the advent of trailer usage is problematic, and for those who prefer to see students receive their entire education inside the brick walls of a school building, that is understandable. However, probing a bit deeper, the trailer issue is more complex than it initially appears. Several factors are at play that demand looking at this issue in its entirety, nuances and all.

First, the over-capacity of the county schools is a positive symptom of the high quality education that attracts parents – especially new families moving into Chesterfield – to county schools for their children. Despite criticism, the fact remains that Chesterfield enjoys an excellent reputation among the districts in the Commonwealth. No where is this more apparent than in the selection of Dr. Billy Cannaday as Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year in 2005, and his recent tapping as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the entire state by Gov. Kaine. By most metrics, Chesterfield is educating its students well, and people want to have their kids be a part of that.

Second, the over-capacity issue is due to the county’s reticence to spend money on new construction in a time frame that satifies the demand. While there are true needs for upgrading and replacement of facilities, in some perverse manner, the usage of trailers represents a measure if fiscal prudence. New schools and all of their accoutrements are a source of pride for a district and for parents, but with the increase in construction and transportation costs that have occurred in recent years, trailers are a lot cheaper to accommodate.

Third, the over-capacity and resulting trailer usage has not necessarily been linked to lower educational performance. As the RTD article notes, a number of teachers actually find advantages in the separate facilities, not the least of which are the on-going potential for distractions normally found in a regular building. Conversations with teachers in Chesterfield and other districts support this notion. Essentially, the argument has not sufficiently been made that trailers are detrimental to a student’s education. On the contrary, anecdotal evidence holds that they may indeed be better.

On a personal note, this writer is young enough to recall being educated in the same type of trailers during grade school. Growing up in a rural area, the school district could not afford to add physical capacity to the extent that a wealthier district like Chesterfield could. As a result, the schools had to rely on trailers to relieve over-crowding. At the time, we students were not happy to be taken out of the school building to take classes in trailers, but our sentiments reflected our desires to socialize and mischief-make more than our concern for quality education. The physical separation seemed to work better for the teachers who felt more control over the classroom environment and who also had the flexibility to experiment with instructional methods that may have garnered a bit of attention had they happened in the traditional setting. On balance, the trailers not only measured up to the regular classrooms, but in some ways they were better.

This issue will continue to vex Chesterfield until the capacity rates, county residential growth rates, and public revenues come closer in line. In the interim, all citizens would be well served to consider multiple sides of this issue in a thoughtful manner.

By now, Open Forum readers should have noticed the changes in appearance of the blog. This new format should provide better reader feedback, and hopefully, it will be a bit easier on the eyes. Readers will also notice that our writing policy is upfront: the views expressed here are the responsibility of the individual writer and not necessarily reflective of the RGAC’s view point.

Additionally, you will notice that we now have a great number of new links along the blog’s side panel. These are designed to help RGAC members and readers navigate the world of growth and development with links to websites of key local players, Greater Richmond regional organizations of interest, and national research & information websites that will keep you up-to-date with coverage of the latest best practices and emerging issues.

If you see anything that is missing that you feel should be included on this website, please let us know. As always, you can contact us at responsiblegrowth@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Conaway

The latest Village News issue brings more information about the emerging Cloverleaf Mall development deal. According to the article, the developer brings a lot of experience in fashioning Traditional Neighborhood Development projects that blend residential, retail, and commercial uses. The location of the site is being touted as linking Richmond with Chesterfield’s Midlothian corridor.

With previous concerns in some corners over the future of Chesterfield Towne Center being negatively affected (real or imagined) by Watkins Centre, it will be interesting to see if those same voices raise similar concerns about the “new” Cloverleaf. TND’s have done wonders for Virginia locales such as Arlington and Newport News, and two mixed-use developments at opposite ends of this county could bode well for both the county’s reputation and its attempts to generate increased commercial taxes to balance out the heavy dependence on residential taxes for financing government activities.

Tell us what you think!

From South of the James: Senator Martin is Making a Federal Case Over Virginia’s Open Primary System.

This is the first part of an examination of the local angle on a state legal issue being played out in federal court.

In Sunday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, reporter Julian Walker gives us a brief look into the emerging traffic safety and traffic congestion issues on Chesterfield’s western roadways. For those who regularly drive along highways in the developing corridors, this matter is particularly frustrating for some motorists as the time it takes to travel through and to local communities increases along with the accompanying rise in dangers inherent with the current road infrastructure.

Much talk has been made about the need for better integration of transportation and land-use decision-making, but so far, very little has changed. At the same time, some of this comes down to free market dynamics that govern household location decisions and commercial prospecting. It’s a classic conundrum for local officials, businesses, and community residents alike.

Here’s an opportunity for you to tell us what you think about this critical concern for residents of high-growth portions of Chesterfield county.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
New Cloverleaf Developer Hired

Chesterfield County has partnered with a North Carolina-based developer to get the Cloverleaf project going. Plans call for a mixed-use site, and the Braves option is apparently still on the table. What do you think about this?

At the RGAC’s monthly meeting, the members elected the following individuals to serve one-year terms on the organization’s board of directors:

Bermuda District – Stella Edwards
Clover Hill District – Jim Slaugenhaupt
Dale District – Vacant
Matoaca District – Bob Herndon
Midlothian District – Mike Harton
Director At-Large – Conaway Haskins

If anyone is interested in or knows of someone who would be interested in serving as the Dale District director, please forward the name and contact information to Marleen Durfee, Executive Director at marleenk@msn.com.

As you know, the Observer has gone weekly and is now charging Internet readers who want to see the current issue. Granted, this is a business decision for the paper, but it is still inconvenient for those who prefer to get their news electronically. What do you think about the paper’s decision to limit access to its most recent Web editions? With the Village News being free both in print and on-line, do you think that the pay-to-play option will hurt the Observer?

In the meantime, this VN editorial may be of interest to some who are concerned with the fate of political participation in Chesterfield, current a one-party system of government. Others may find comfort in this lament about development.