Cooley gym set to open
By Ruth Marlow
By April 1, students at D.G. Cooley Elementary School in Berryville could be exercising in their new gymnasium.
The school system’s business director, Edward Breslauer, told school board members Monday night that the 7,000-square-foot building could be ready by then, depending on the weather. An April 15 completion date was initially set.
The project was undertaken to alleviate scheduling problems due to a lack of space for indoor physical education classes at the school.
Breslauer said the gym still needs two basketball backboards, which will cost approximately $10,600. Because these items were not included in the original cost estimate, the board authorized use of interest earned on its loan to pay for the backboards. But the board needs to seek an appropriation of those funds from county supervisors.
The board also agreed to pay nearly $1,092 for more ceiling tiles in the building to cover electrical wires.
Other board news
Board members also discussed the four sites under consideration for a new high school. Philip Embury (Millwood District), who sits on the board’s construction committee, said results from feasibility studies on the potential sites are expected in late April or early May. The studies are being conducted by Gannett Fleming, a Fairfax-based engineering firm
The four potential sites are: 40 acres across Westwood Road owned by Berryville resident Beverley Byrd, Jr.; a tract of land west of Battlefield Estates where the Ketoctin Land Company has offered 40 acres or more; a 71-acre site just south of the existing high school that the Salvation Army has offered to donate; and land behind the existing school.
Chairman Robina Rich Bouffault (White Post District) said the board plans to inspect the Salvation Army site on March 26, to inspect an area where Allegheny Power wants an extra 40 feet for right of way for its power line easement.
“I don’t think it would impact it much either way, other than decreased acreage, because it is land located close to the power line,” Bouffault said, when asked how that could affect locating a new school on that site.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com