Charlottesville United for Public Education’s Statement in Support of Full Buford Renovation Funding in CIP

March 29, 2023 — As Charlottesville City Council wraps up its deliberations around the FY2024 budget, Charlottesville United for Public Education is urging community members to voice their support for *fully* funding the Buford Middle School renovation – including additional dollars to update the auditorium. City Council has approved $78M to fund the renovation of Buford and the reconfiguration of all schools (where elementary schools will house K-5th and Walker will transition to a citywide preschool). Bids for the project were recently submitted to the City, with the option for updating the auditorium at Buford for an additional $8M (approx).

City Council will host a work session this Thursday at 6pm focusing on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which includes reconfiguration funding. You can register to speak via Zoom here or attend in person at City Space.

You can also write them an email at council@charlottesville.gov.

The following is the statement of Sandra Aviles-Poe, Charlottesville United for Public Education’s Community Organizer:

“Our community and City Council have rallied together to approve $78M to fund the renovation and reconfiguration of Buford Middle School. Together we have breathed a sigh of relief and stood proud having finally realized a decade-long vision for investing in the modernization and reconfiguration of Charlottesville City Schools.

“But decades of underinvestment in our schools, including infrastructure, are hard to fix in a single stroke. It will take many more years of intentional, inclusive planning and robust funding to get our schools to a place where we are providing all Charlottesville students with a high-quality education that meets their physical, social and emotional needs in a 21st century learning environment.

“We thank City and Charlottesville City School leaders for standing firm in their commitment to the initial funding, and we now ask that they tap back into their creative energies and shared priority of our public school kids to find additional funding – up to $8M – to remodel the Buford auditorium during the overall renovation.

“We’ve agreed that our schools are in dire need of upgrades. It’s the first major investment in school buildings since the construction of Charlottesville High School in 1974. Let’s make it count.

“During our push for the initial funding, we heard this over and over: ‘We should have done this a decade ago.’ And ‘It’s not going to get any cheaper.’ The same is true of the Buford auditorium. The arts are no exception. The longer we delay, the higher costs will go. During the community engagement sessions to identify the preferred course for “reconfiguration” in 2021, there was strong support for the option that included updating the auditorium alongside the rest of the school.

“Let’s move this project – with an auditorium renovation – forward full steam ahead so that we have the space to address the needs of ALL students.”