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Preston Park comes online as Roanoke schools map three‑phase boundary and capital plan
Summary
School operations and facilities staff said Preston Park construction is on time and on budget and outlined a three‑phase plan to realign attendance zones and address educationally inadequate buildings and high‑school overcrowding; no final decisions were made at the joint meeting.
Roanoke City Public Schools presented a facilities and boundary update at the March 16 joint meeting with Roanoke City Council, saying Preston Park elementary will open on schedule and the division will pursue a staged approach to address aging buildings and overcrowding.
Chief operations officer Chris Perkins said Preston Park will be ready in time for the coming school year, noting the project is roughly a $44 million undertaking funded in part by the division's capital reserves and by the state Schools Construction Assistance Program (SCAP). Perkins said demolition of the old building will begin once school is out, and staff and some functions will relocate for summer work.
Perkins and consultants described three phases: (1) bring Preston Park online to relieve seats and enable programming shifts (fall 2026), (2) use targeted renovations and programming changes at Hurt Park, Lincoln Terrace and Fair View to address building‑condition and programmatic gaps, and (3) plan more extensive capacity work to address Crystal Springs, Highland Park and other overcrowded schools and to tackle functional capacity issues at both high schools. The consultants recommended the division plan to a “moderate” projection but noted that high schools remain over functional capacity under all projection scenarios due partly to an historically high 8th→9th promotion ratio.
Why it matters: The strategy aims to minimize disruptive wholesale rebuilds while aligning school programming to building capacities and anticipated enrollment, but several measures — including potential use of trailers and a $4.3 million appropriation — hinge on identifying sustainable ongoing capital funding.
What comes next: The school board will continue the boundary steering process, refine programming proposals for the phase‑two schools, and work with the city on funding options. No capital appropriation changes were adopted by council during the joint session.
Sources: Presentation by COO Chris Perkins and Q&A with council members, March 16, 2026.
