The Norfolk City Council voted to approve a comprehensive agreement with Heartland Construction Inc. to design and build a replacement Maury High School, with the council attaching a condition that the existing Maury High School property will revert to the city once the new building is completed.

Council members said the measure is intended to provide students with safer, updated facilities. “We're finally here,” Council Member Mister Clanton said as the ordinance came to a vote, thanking staff and colleagues for vetting the deal. The council adopted the agreement as amended during the meeting.

The ordinance was presented to the council as an amended package that adds a condition: upon completion of the new school, the old Maury High School property will immediately revert to the city for the city to determine future uses. A staff member advising the council said that condition was added after informal session review.

Council members and staff discussed the project cost and wider implications. Several speakers described the investment as significant: one council member said the project is “$220,000,000,” while another referenced a $211 million figure, reflecting different figures cited in the meeting record. Council members repeatedly urged that resources and the same level of attention be applied to other schools citywide. Council Member Mister Page said the effort should “be equitable” and that other neighborhoods and schools deserve similar attention. Mister Smigiel said students deserve “safe and healthy buildings” and described the investment as among the largest capital investments the city has undertaken.

Speakers also urged citizens to press state legislators for more school‑construction funding; a council member noted that localities currently carry much of the cost for new school construction and urged a faster school consolidation process so savings can be reinvested into existing buildings.

The council vote was recorded in favor of the ordinance. Following council discussion, each voting member on the dais indicated support and the ordinance was adopted.

Background: The ordinance implements a project under the Public‑Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act and requires final design and construction negotiations with the selected private partner. The council’s amendment that the old school revert to city ownership becomes part of the adopted agreement.

The council did not set a public groundbreaking date during the meeting; members said they look forward to future milestones and encouraged continued community engagement on how the project and related district consolidations will proceed.