To build or renovate? That is the question Norfolk city and school officials are asking themselves as they look at declining enrollment and aging school facilities.
Norfolk weighs what to do with several aging school buildings amid declining enrollment dailypress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailypress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Norfolk school division expects roughly 27,000 students to be enrolled in the coming school year, and that could likely be an overestimate. Ten years ago, there were roughly 32,500. That is a loss of about 500 students each year — a trend that does not appear to be slowing down and is leading to discussions about what the division must do with the growing amount of surplus space in its .
A volunteer with New Virginia Majority made a FOIA request to get Norfolk Public Schools' information on the bus schedules and stops to help support the group's initiative to walk students safely home. However, he was told this would cost up to $489.
Norfolk's mayor and city council voted unanimously to approve a pay increase for all public safety employees in an effort to recruit and retain employees.