School board approves Maury High School comprehensive agreement under PPEA; project to continue with steering committee oversight

The Norfolk Public Schools board voted unanimously Aug. 27 to approve a comprehensive agreement under the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) with Heartland Construction Inc. to complete design and construction work for a new Maury High School academic building, athletic facilities and campus.

The vote and immediate outcome Board member Miss Moore, Buffalo, moved to approve the agreement “as presented.” The motion was seconded by Mister Inge and passed on a roll call in which Bassin, Buffalo, Inge, Martin, Olson, Thomas and Takalajero voted aye; there were no recorded no votes. The chair announced, “The motion is approved.”

Why the project matters The PPEA contract covers final design and construction of a replacement academic building and associated athletic and campus facilities at Maury High School. During board discussion, members said they want continued involvement in design decisions that affect educational spaces.

Board questions and contractor commitments Board members asked about decision-making authority during design and construction and the role of the existing steering and technical committees. A project representative (Miss Price and colleagues) told the board that the steering committee that guided the project to this point will continue to play a central role in design decisions and that school division staff and city representatives remain engaged. On inclusion, the representative said the project has “current projections” for minority-, women- and small-business participation and reaffirmed a commitment to outreach programs; she said earlier interim agreements projected vendor participation levels “which is over 50%” (projected participation goals discussed by the project team during the meeting).

Legal and procedural references During the motion to move into closed session earlier in the meeting, the board referenced exemptions in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Va. Code § 2.2-3711) and the PPEA statute (Va. Code § 56-575.1 et seq.), which relate to personnel discussions, contract negotiations and PPEA procurement processes; the PPEA award for the Maury project was discussed under those exemptions before the public vote.

Actions and next steps Formal action: motion to approve the Maury comprehensive agreement (mover: Miss Moore/Buffalo; second: Mister Inge). Vote tally: yes 7, no 0, abstain 0. Outcome: approved. The board and project team said they will continue design work with the steering committee and bring important educational-space decisions to the group as the project advances.

Ending The board approved the agreement and moved on to adjourn the meeting. No additional motions related to the Maury project were recorded at the session.