Board Reviews $2.25M in Minor Capital Requests; Turf Field Proposal for Hidden Valley Draws Focus

The Roanoke County School Board spent significant time on June 5 reviewing the district’s minor and major capital project requests and contingency levels. Todd Cagle, director of operations, presented a list of projects across elementary, middle and high schools totaling about $2,245,500 in requested budgets while the minor-capital account currently holds $1,620,000.

Minor-capital items on the list included classroom carpet replacement requests, library/media center refreshes, renovation of science-to-family-and-consumer-science rooms, gym and court repairs, facility cosmetic work and small turf/drainage fixes. Several school requests carried explicit budgets: VonSack Elementary carpet $50,000; Horn $20,000; Northside High conversion of science rooms for family and consumer sciences $50,000; Hidden Valley Middle lighting/ceiling replacement $300,000; and various field and restroom repairs at high schools with budgets ranging from $25,000 to $350,000.

Cagle advised the board there is uncertainty whether summer-window work could be completed given current contractor availability and material lead times; he said some items might have to wait for school breaks such as Christmas if contractors cannot complete work before the school year starts.

The discussion turned to major-capital priorities. Board members spent the largest portion of the debate on a board member request to install artificial turf at Hidden Valley High School, which Cagle estimated would cost about $1 million. Proponents argued turf would provide a consistent, weather-resistant playing surface, reduce maintenance costs over time, allow the school to host games on its own campus and offer revenue opportunities by renting the field. Opponents and cautious members raised concerns about upfront cost, whether current natural grass fields could be further maintained, and whether scheduling and safety concerns could be addressed without turf.

Cagle presented usage estimates showing Case Spring High, Case Spring Middle, Hidden Valley High and Parks & Rec share the primary stadium schedule; staff recommended placing a $1 million turf line on the major-capital section for board action at a future meeting. Several board members asked for more analysis of usage, lifecycle maintenance tradeoffs and potential revenue streams; one board member requested the turf item be added as a formal action on the next regular meeting agenda so the board could vote.

The board also discussed a proposal to deposit $450,000 into each of the two elementary-school project contingencies to guard against unforeseen costs on ongoing renovations, a recommendation staff said would protect the program as furniture and unexpected remediation had pushed contingency spending. Cagle recommended $450,000 be added to each school contingency but said leftover funds would be reconsolidated into major capital if not used.

No final votes were taken on the full minor-capital list; the board directed staff to bring the turf proposal and the contingency-allocation recommendation back as action items at the next regular meeting and to begin smaller procurement steps for urgent summer projects where possible.