Roanoke officials recommend a third comprehensive high school after feasibility review; downtown CTE and community centers advancing

Roanoke City Public Schools and city officials used a joint meeting to update leaders on completed and upcoming school facility projects and on a phase‑one feasibility review addressing high‑school overcrowding.

Superintendent Dr. White described progress under the district’s Equity in Action plan: the district opened DayTech (the Charles W. Day Technical Education Center), which offers programs including cosmetology, automotive repair, welding, criminal justice and more; the division reported approximately 1,400 students served at DayTech. She said the William B. Robertson administration building, repurposed from the former Roanoke Times site, is due to open next month and the Community Empowerment Center at the historic Lucy Addison High School site is scheduled to open in July. Dr. White framed the moves as part of long‑term “legacy work” to expand CTE, centralize staff and provide family services, including adult education and expanded mental‑health supports.

The district then presented a phase‑one feasibility review of three options for high‑school overcrowding: renovate the Jefferson Center into a magnet, expand the two existing high schools (Patrick Henry and William Fleming), or construct a new comprehensive high school. Chris Perkins, RCPS chief operations officer, said the system faces about 700 students over capacity and that the Jefferson Center site is less than two acres and would hold only about 360 students — “a poor fit” for the program. Perkins said the district’s research points to an optimal comprehensive high‑school size of about 1,450 students (which would also change athletic classification and ease scheduling and safety demands).

Perkins and consultants concluded that additions to the existing campuses would cost roughly $50 million, while a new comprehensive high school with an attached arts and innovation magnet and CTE linkage would be on the order of $150–180 million (construction only; estimates cited excluded land acquisition and some site costs). The board asked staff to explore site acquisition and noted an ideal parcel would be roughly 80 acres, preferably located on the city’s East Side to preserve diversity and balance transportation demands.

Perkins discussed operating and construction tradeoffs: construction timelines for additions are shorter but produce significant campus disruption and constrained long‑term capacity; a new school offers better long‑term instructional, safety and transportation outcomes but adds operating and staffing costs for another full high school. The district is also pursuing energy measures — including solar and electric vehicles — to reduce utility exposure if a new campus is built.

Ending: The school board and council requested additional site and cost analysis; the feasibility review was presented as the basis for further study rather than a final decision.