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Petersburg school board approves $2.64 million reappropriation for facility repairs and upgrades
Summary
The Petersburg City Public Schools board voted to reappropriate $2.64 million of FY2025 unassigned funds into the capital improvements fund to address life-safety and modernization needs at Petersburg High School and to fund design work at two elementary schools; staff said $1.7 million of the original balance is restricted for extended-school-year programming and cannot be repurposed.
The Petersburg City Public Schools Board on July 2 approved moving $2.64 million from the division's FY2025 unassigned general fund balance into the capital improvement fund to address fire-safety repairs and other urgent facility needs.
School CFO Dr. Matias Greywood told the board the figure is auditor-verified and net of roughly $1.7 million in ESY (extended school year) grant funds that are restricted and cannot legally be redirected. "This is not a request for new money," Dr. Greywood said. "These are existing funds already within PCPS accounts cleared and ready to be directed to the priority projects." The board carried the motion after the superintendent's recommendation; the meeting record shows a recorded opposition during the vote.
Why it matters: staff said earlier inspections and fire-marshall citations prompted prioritizing work at Petersburg High School (PHS). Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dr. Javona Martinez described a two-domain allocation: Domain 1 (about $2.3 million) focuses on PHS life-safety and modernization — gym showers and doors cited by the fire marshal, corridor fire doors, HVAC replacement in the main office, an auditorium modernization, a new athletic field scoreboard and cafeteria furniture — while Domain 2 (about $277,690) covers architectural and design work for door and window upgrades at Cool Springs and Lakemont elementary schools.
Board members pressed staff on scope and process. Several asked whether the fire marshal had inspected every building; staff answered that the most urgent citations were at the PHS gym (which had been closed) and that the facilities team is conducting a divisionwide condition assessment so future projects can be prioritized against a 10-year master plan. "We want to do things in order," Dr. Martinez said, describing a phased approach and a coming facilities condition index.
Restrictions and next steps: Dr. Greywood and Dr. Martinez emphasized that the $1.7 million in ESY funds is restricted by the Virginia Department of Education and remains on the books until that program's implementation begins; those dollars are not part of the reappropriation. The approved $2.64 million will be moved into the capital fund and used for the projects described, with procurement and construction steps to follow.
The board approved the reappropriation motion later in the meeting as part of the action items. Staff said they will return with procurement details, timelines and further budget steps as projects move from design to construction.
