The Fairfax County School Board on June 26 amended its policy on building evaluation and infrastructure maintenance and moved to declare the former Clifton Elementary School at 7010 Clifton Road uninhabitable, directing the superintendent to initiate demolition planning and cleanup and to return with a funding and site‑layout plan.

Board members framed the move as closing a longtime gap that left a vacant school sitting idle for years. “If a building is deemed uninhabitable, then you have to do something about it in a judicious reasonable manner,” board member Mr. McDaniel said during debate.

The board’s policy change — to Policy 8‑258, Building Evaluation, Building Renovation and Infrastructure Maintenance — adds demolition as an explicit option when a building evaluation finds a facility uninhabitable, and requires infrastructure assessments to identify buildings approaching “end of life” to inform renovation or demolition planning and budgets. Ms. Anderson, who moved the amendment, said the intent is to avoid situations in which a closed facility remains unused for years and becomes a hazard.

Discussion centered on implementation details: the policy sets a 36‑month timeline (described in debate as “two bond cycles”) for the superintendent to return with a plan after a board declaration, and allows the superintendent to request extensions. Board members pressed staff on whether the change would require CIP (capital improvement plan) amendments; staff member Mr. Foster said there was “no CIP impact” to the policy amendment itself. Board members also asked that third‑party evaluations be used to determine whether a building is uninhabitable; Superintendent Dr. Reed said a building evaluation would “likely be done by a third party.”

The board then considered a follow‑on motion specific to Clifton Elementary, moved by Mr. McDaniel and seconded by Ms. Anderson, declaring 7010 Clifton Road uninhabitable and directing the superintendent to proceed with demolition and site cleanup “as required by School Board Policy 8‑258.3.” The follow‑on, as amended, added a clause clarifying that “before any funds are encumbered for demolition and associated site cleanup, the superintendent shall return to the school board with a plan for funding and general site layout for board approval.”

Board members debated postponing the Clifton motion to the next meeting to allow all members time to review the September 2021 Samaha report referenced in discussion and to obtain cost estimates. Ms. Maron and others pressed for a brief delay to get a price estimate; Ms. Anderson and supporters argued the community had waited 15 years and the clock should start. The motion to postpone failed, but an amendment requiring the superintendent to return before funds are encumbered was adopted. The amended follow‑on motion then passed with a majority; one board member abstained and others were absent from the table during the vote.

Board members and speakers repeatedly noted the site’s long history: the school was closed in 2011 after health and water‑quality concerns were raised, and board members referenced an architectural/feasibility report prepared in 2021 that recommended removal of the existing facility and retention of the property as land.

The board vote does not commit funds for demolition; the superintendent will return to the board with a funding and site plan within the timeline established in Policy 8‑258.3, or request an extension if necessary.

The board also directed the clerk to post the September 2021 Samaha report to the agenda item record for public and board review.