Board Approves Contract to Build Leesburg School

The Loudoun County School Board this week approved the construction contract for an elementary school in Leesburg that is more than 25 percent over budget and two years behind schedule.

The school -- to be built under a $16.6 million contract awarded to Sigal Construction Corp. of the District -- will have fewer classrooms than originally planned, with seats for 711 students rather than 800. Not included in the contract were additional costs for furniture, road improvements and other expenses. Those will bring the total to $21 million, $4.4 million more than planned.

Board members debated whether to pay more for a smaller school. The board voted 7 to 1 late Tuesday to award the contract, with Bob Ohneiser (Broad Run) the lone dissenter and Sarah B. Smith (Leesburg) absent.

"We have to do the best with a bad situation," said board member John A. Andrews II (Potomac). "We need the seats. We don't have a choice."

The new elementary school, to be known as Sycolin Creek, will open in fall 2007, relieving crowding at nearby schools, including Evergreen Mill Elementary in Leesburg. More than 60 students at that school were put on waiting lists before classes began this month and ended up having to transfer.

The new school had been scheduled to open in 2005, but a drawn-out search for land led the board to abandon three sites before settling on a parcel south of Leesburg. Rising construction costs during that delay contributed to the budget overrun.

The school system prides itself on cost-efficient construction. But as the county grows and land becomes more difficult to acquire, Andrews predicted that there could be more construction delays and cost overruns. He said the school system should buy needed land as soon as possible to help speed long-term projects.

Ohneiser said he could not vote for a smaller school when forecasts call for enrollment growth in the 50,000-student system. Other elementary schools are planned to accommodate 875 students each.

The school system will be forced to ask the county Board of Supervisors for the additional $4.4 million. Half of that money, officials said, could come from savings on the construction of other schools that have opened recently.

Andrews said he would seek more funds from supervisors to add classrooms to the school.