CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the county School Board will huddle Wednesday to discuss the possibility of including the construction of a fourth high school in the upcoming budget.

With the area’s population growth, and the county’s three high schools expected to be over capacity in the next few years, the School Board will recommend the construction of a new $230-$240 million high school to open for the 2030-31 school year.

“We look to the future. We know we’re growing,” ACPS spokesperson Jason Grant told Cville Right Now. “We know that it effects the value of our home properties. We know it effects community use. We know it effects student learning. We know that the infrastructure matters. How do we invest in a way that makes sense for the future. That’s what this discussion is.”

No vote is anticipated during Wednesday afternoon’s work session, when all the supervisors and the board members are expected to attend and discuss the new school and other items on a potential capital improvement plan.

The project is in its earliest stages. In addition to the funding question, ACPS must locate and purchase land for the new school and then put together a redistricting plan to determine which students would attend which schools.

“The top-ranking project for them is a new comprehensive high school,” Grant said of the School Board. “But it’s a concept at this point.”

With the county’s population growing and new housing developments being built and planned, ACPS can see the need for the fourth school on the immediate horizon.

“We’re one of the faster growing communities in Virginia,” Grant said. “We outpace Virginia’s growth. We’re seeing a growth in overall population and we’re also seeing ag growth in student population. And that’s exceeding what the growth patterns are throughout the state.”

That growth means the county’s three high schools – Albemarle, Western Albemarle and Monticello – will soon be insufficient to house the number of students the county will need to service.

“Those high schools are all projected to be above capacity,” Grant said. “We’ll have more students than what the buildings will be able to hold.”

ACPS must put together funding requests that it submits to the Board of Supervisors for approval to be included in the county budget. While the school division does receive some state and federal funding, the county provides the bulk of its financial support, county spokesperson Abbey Stumpf told Cville Right Now.

The two bodies meet twice a year, Stumpf said, holding a session in December to discuss long-range facility planning, and again in March for a budget work session.

“That’s the challenge for the Board of Supervisors,” Grant said. “How does it get funded?”

The Board of Supervisors included in its legislative agenda for the upcoming year supporting a proposed one cent sales tax that would support capital projects at Virginia public schools.

The state legislature passed a bill last session that would have allowed localities to impose the tax, if approved by a voter referendum, with the funds earmarked for capital improvements in Virginia public schools. Both Del. Amy Laufer and Del. Katrina Callsen, as well as Sen. Creigh Deeds, supported the measure, with was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

It is likely to be reintroduced in the next session, when Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger could then sign it.

“The one decision that can have the greatest impact on capacity, as well as the issues modernization and accessibility, is a new school,” Grant said. “All that gets addressed. That’s why that becomes a priority. The school board said this is what’s most important for us to address for student performance.”