[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6461510,"mediaKeyId","5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54","parentId",5824129,"title","Huntington Middle School prioritized for June 2026 as city, schools report construction progress on Southeast Community Resource Area","audioSeconds",395,"startMs",440000,"endMs",835000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54&start=440&end=835","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54/thumbnail_440000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6461510/Virginia/Huntington-Middle-School-prioritized-for-June-2026-as-city-schools-report-construction-progress-on-Southeast-Community-Resource-Area","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461510-3d1afbc3faa13607160c81355abcc622/orig.mp4?Expires=1770681800&Signature=LLK~2G7wdmFtFd62bdFaRH5AeYy9Re~LIHn3y9PcvK0snG2I-QlhQnezrQ~qlTk3PmsKYBUy08ZhxzPW4wv48npQiFIl72oybywxqRO82fa5f-I-4-gE97OVSNEGZiXpWPbuZvm0DWE94goB-PnfZI75kMfDc7eVmUjvh80l3vSl3m9350EqQDEaHz6gOqFJ9tEx2zLYkZqcVwNmsF29vEEUrtxLD~XjOCBvq9UAVGpRtVLHzHBcKEBt6nbN-d015A20B0KtfEMjnyrllRNb8fQjVaVGz9iB5T8yC2Q0-GZ91eGnNSkbN-7ZXak-AJMQdW4WcRPKvCXEsC5BFQ6aOw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Newport News (Sugggested)","date","2025-09-24T12:23:17.9Z","article","City and school officials updated the Newport News City Council and School Board on construction progress for the Southeast Community Resource Area, which includes the new Huntington Middle School and an attached recreation center. City Director of Engineering Craig Gallant said the contractor received a notice to proceed in June and that substantial completion for the middle school is targeted for June 2026 and for the recreation center in August 2026.

The update matters because the two facilities will be adjacent on a single site and the middle school’s opening is timed to allow the school division months to outfit classrooms and prepare operations before the school year. Gallant said, “The middle school itself is what has priority,” and that the contractor is managing two separate site teams under a single contract to try to meet the staggered completion dates.

Gallant summarized the project scope and immediate issues. The new middle school is roughly 123,000 square feet; the recreation center is about 97,000 square feet. Construction progress is roughly 36–37 percent for both facilities because the contract was issued as a single package with separate crews. The project encountered three buried storage tanks on the former school site (the area allocated for the recreation center), which required removal and soil mitigation before work could continue in that zone. Gallant said permitting and procurement issues have slowed some submittals, and the contractor has issued multiple resubmittals to meet design requirements.

City staff identified several critical-path items: bringing electrical service and a transformer to the site (the city is coordinating with Dominion), stormwater infrastructure that serves both buildings, and structural steel erection. Gallant said Dominion had procured the transformer and that the utility’s design information was expected to be delivered to the contractor during the week of the meeting. He also listed near-term construction priorities: rooftop HVAC units, exterior walls, interior CMU walls and roof decking, exterior doors and windows, and continued stormwater work.

Officials gave updated budget numbers. The presentation listed a construction cost of about $77 million for the school and $67 million for the recreation center. Change orders to date were small relative to project cost: roughly 2.4 percent for the school and 1.5 percent for the recreation center. Gallant said some change orders were used to expedite procurements for long-lead items.

School operations and logistics were also discussed. Rusty Fairhart, the school division’s chief operations officer, said the division has been working with the city and architects on move-in preparations. Fairhart said the division has a furniture committee and is finalizing furniture selections and other finish decisions; he noted the division is close to finalizing a color palette and is awaiting one final terrazzo sample before instructing architects to provide samples to the contractor. Fairhart said the schools are coordinating with alumni to develop interior graphics that reflect Huntington’s history.

City and school officials described routine coordination: construction progress meetings every two weeks with school staff, and additional calls as needed. Gallant and Fairhart said they are finalizing a schedule for finishes, furnishings and equipment so the school division will have time after substantial completion to install and test systems before students arrive. Officials said contingency planning is in place should procurement or permitting issues threaten opening-day plans — for example, temporary generators were discussed as a short-term option if some electrical components are delayed.

The presentation also addressed operational coordination of the joint complex: scheduling of shared spaces, responsibilities for maintenance and programming, and development of formal agreements so city and school programming can operate together once the facilities open.

Officials did not report a change to the June/August substantial-completion targets but cautioned that supply-chain delays, incomplete contractor submittals or additional unforeseen site conditions could affect the schedule. Gallant said the team is monitoring procurements closely and has discussed shifting contractor labor to the middle school if necessary to protect the June completion date.

Looking ahead, the city and school division will continue biweekly construction meetings, finalize finish and furniture deliveries, and complete remaining site utilities and structural work through the winter and spring months prior to the June milestone.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Newport News City Council & School board Work Session 09-23-2025","oneSentenceSummary","City and school officials updated the Newport News City Council and School Board that construction at the Southeast Community Resource Area — including a 123,000-square-foot Huntington Middle School and a 97,000-square-foot recreation center — is about 36–37 percent complete and that the middle school is being prioritized for substantial completion in June 2026, with the recreation center to follow in August 2026.","taxTitle","Newport News (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",12491,"location","Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6461500,"City and schools push earlier budget schedule; officials explore revenue formula and 1% sales tax for school construction",700,2987000,3687000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54&start=2987&end=3687","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54/thumbnail_2987000.jpg","/articles/6461500/Virginia/City-and-schools-push-earlier-budget-schedule-officials-explore-revenue-formula-and-1-sales-tax-for-school-construction","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461500-d148c2274a14a1e78259d456d9d06a95/orig.mp4?Expires=1770681800&Signature=bm5V-uNBVzT9L5IzPjJKo95WWjGmI-IlHmT~PTnEIffGQTa0ATIceZhtbhCWjHa6DwSr69R4cXf~Cho0p9S3swTwGkMsY-ksF-NrsQup2gWwl8yMxJZrz2UbY9GIel4U6V816-nVtOWX1BhqeT9WEdlCyBRAmKcwDp3Sp5h-I~e6pP4gq3hEnDsqCVmq3EqcPRnEkyEggZIT1N1Npuq7b8~bUkpAV4idiaFGGhhQORgdBC0TWmO4-f8xHZIvbNmtowozIao~NmrfBMJfeHx3FBrbqfoG0vn~pCIsdE1IA1MkuLtPAyYoEfECu40rqHjSR3pX4sJw6MfkizRT6cUUVQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City and school leaders used a joint work session to discuss aligning the city’s budget calendar with the school division’s budget request and to explore longer-term funding options including a revenue-sharing formula and a possible 1 percent local sales tax for school construction.

City staff presented a revised annual budget calendar that moves key milestones earlier in the year: council sets priorities in July, the administration issues budget instructions in September, departmental and constitutional-office hearings are in January, and the city manager delivers a recommended operating budget no later than the second council meeting in March. Public hearings and adoption typically occur between the March recommendation and the first council meeting in May.

City staff asked the school division to provide its funding request earlier than in past years — preferably by mid‑January and no later than mid‑February — to give the city roughly a 30‑day advance window for analysis and public engagement prior to the March budget submittal. The city noted that its timeline is constrained by City Code deadlines that require the manager to deliver a recommended budget by a specified date in March.

Council members and school board members discussed two related issues. First, several members said a revenue-sharing formula could provide more predictability for both the city and the schools and allow longer-term planning. Supporters said a formula would make revenue expectations more transparent and would remove some political friction from year-to-year allocation decisions. Opponents or cautions raised two practical constraints: state funding amounts for the upcoming fiscal year are often not finalized until late in the calendar year or after the General Assembly concludes its session, and some school board members said adopting earlier local budgets in the past has left the division at a competitive disadvantage when neighboring districts raise pay or benefits after seeing Newport News’ adopted budget.

Second, members discussed pursuing state authorization and local voter approval for a 1 percent local sales tax dedicated to school construction. School and council officials said state legislation would be required to allow a local referendum that gives a school board or locality authority to impose such a sales tax for school construction; councilmembers asked the school board to work with the local legislative delegation and prepare a request for the General Assembly.

Participants proposed forming a working group or charging the council or finance committee to study revenue‑sharing models and produce options for review. City and school staff said models from peer communities could be adapted and that any proposal would be shared with both governing bodies before being recommended publicly.

City and school leaders acknowledged practical limits to completing all decisions before the March submittal; they agreed to pursue earlier submission dates where possible, study formula options this year, and continue regular liaison meetings to coordinate transportation, capital and operating needs.","City administration asked the school division to deliver its funding request earlier in the annual cycle so the city can prepare a proposed operating budget by March. Council members and the school board discussed studying a revenue‑sharing formula to provide predictable school funding and endorsed pursuing state authorization and a local",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6461505,"Newport News reports SOL gains and higher graduation rate; district sets long-term proficiency goals",1380,1370000,2750000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54&start=1370&end=2750","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54/thumbnail_1370000.jpg","/articles/6461505/Virginia/Newport-News-reports-SOL-gains-and-higher-graduation-rate-district-sets-long-term-proficiency-goals","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461505-2a8f2bf3f28c131e6ffa0c4c3f5f4ce9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770681800&Signature=UfAKhP6Rn6sDJiWXQ5VZwoomEATmvQH5lj-OQorUYaxEo0~9Cp4yowXDqLfa7RPIrW1BD2aLB1f-m~RFKSC30pWCYqgHhhkYsiJ03ZzNH0zqRltrmKi7HkJ-o93qAPq5rjg468tLRz3AhpYYXYl41VSh8002o3dl~e5VybIuZJOyp8Qz3pdi3rcEe988ADjOJU~hfjeFnBgN1ywdEQ-PXf7cPTMATOvrcqSbo24X~Vvk5GT5sEdoYxqqk9eLZxMFOsKHtsDenZMLNBb1dOOxNH2PiXSREQi~8fgx2nQ7n0bFWCEnpYey7lfkZaLCrANSPRtNwNfwL8R7klPvbcrMPg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Newport News Public Schools officials reported district-level gains on state assessments and improvements in graduation and attendance measures during a joint work session with the City Council.

The presentation by the district’s academic chief outlined recent state testing changes and district responses. District staff said the Virginia Department of Education implemented a new accountability system that combines mastery, growth and readiness measures; district leaders said the state has not yet released the school-by-school accountability designations because the growth-calculation details and final cut scores remain pending.

District chief academic officer Dr. Kip Rogers told the meeting that the district saw notable gains even amid recent statewide changes in standards and assessments. The district highlighted double-digit gains in science and described gains that, on balance, were comparable to peer districts. Rogers said the district’s on-time four-year graduation rate improved from about 93 percent to 97 percent. The district also reported a reduction in chronic absenteeism, from roughly 21 percent to about 18 percent, and said the division was invited to present its chronic-absenteeism work at a Virginia School Boards Association event.

Rogers described five priorities the district is pursuing to sustain improvement: build strong foundational instruction, support teachers with feedback and development, provide tiered school support, focus on student interventions, and sustain leadership development for principals and assistant principals. The district has partnered with Educentric for intensive support at 24 schools; half of those schools have begun multi-day training and school improvement planning work.

Officials gave examples of targeted supports. The district said a plan used at Newsome Park produced a 23-percentage-point increase in third-grade reading at that school, and staff said the district is replicating elements of that plan at other schools. The district also described a hands-on science initiative (SciPac) and distribution of science kits to grades 5 and 8 as part of the strategy that preceded the science gains.

Communications and outreach were discussed. Rogers and other staff said the district has a Huntington-specific webpage with monthly updates and photos, and that the division and city communications teams are coordinating publicity, community meetings and a planned ribbon-cutting when the facilities open. The district also reported survey results from the parent outreach tied to the Educentric work: about 24 selected schools received focused surveys with roughly 1,000 parent responses to date, and the district said roughly 90 percent of those respondents reported overall satisfaction with current school services.

The board and council asked a range of questions about the new accountability system, the timeline for statewide cut scores, and the potential effects of charter schools and vouchers on enrollment. Rogers said the division is implementing new standards now and will provide further updates as state accountability calculations are released; he said staff have a plan for math that emphasizes teacher preparation and pre‑teaching for standards that teachers report as challenging. Rogers also said the division has an AI task force that has developed guidance for staff; senior staff were scheduled to receive a briefing and the division plans to share the guidance more broadly in the coming weeks.

District and city officials emphasized partnerships with Peninsula Community College, Christopher Newport University, Hampton University and hundreds of community partners; the superintendent said the division has recorded 444 community partners across schools.

Officials cautioned that final school-by-school accountability labels and growth calculations depend on state decisions. The district said it will continue to brief the board and the city as the Virginia Department of Education publishes final cut scores and school-level reports.","School officials told the joint City Council–School Board meeting the district showed gains across subjects this year, with double-digit science gains and an increase in four‑year on‑time graduation to 97%. Officials said the state has not yet released school-by-school accountability calculations and the district is pursuing a 2030 strategic goal.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6461496,"Newport News council approves $5,000 contingency grant to Alzheimer's Association",49,4733000,4782000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54&start=4733&end=4782","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824129-9b0ffe861a7e9b3e36d11dbe622b3a54/thumbnail_4733000.jpg","/articles/6461496/Virginia/Newport-News-council-approves-5000-contingency-grant-to-Alzheimers-Association","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461496-ee798ad5e7c90911087f40c899ecdda8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770681800&Signature=aFYHdCy0znv4Vbn0D8jMx7pHNw~2E0E8L3ri7iH5HNnTI4N9j7bqRkTy3JVVspaXvvgPNxJuFxeW07QyVusNZgx1h89b55jCoXUUqUF4rEhx6WYbhv~LqzfCL-ZDh1brUs5EhUk5rVRThL6EweI0iIrc-e2qGN0X2ADcFSQWdXe51wIRLc8HjYcZ-Q626rh8hQQ-0114M5nyAn8sdRYjPjxSbNrJhw1f8rhESEo2ymXhOtuuiO1yVPMGWCwl~5y-B~9Pf07OlDevhzTlbeOOzL6oS7J87OQZBeu2oXJUxKmtKG0SGniIW3oovkzn4DNyjoFpoXDzg2-8qn9KD2WUfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Newport News City Council approved a $5,000 council contingency request to the Alzheimer’s Association during the Sept. 23 joint work session. A council member introduced the request as a fiscal‑year 2026 council contingency allocation “for the Alzheimer’s Association” to support police-related work; the mover and seconder were not identified in the public roll call.

The council proceeded to a roll-call vote. The meeting record shows the six council members present — Councilman Coleman, Councilman Harris, Mayor Jones, Councilman Long, Councilwoman Vick and Vice Mayor Bethany — voted in favor. The clerk announced the motion carried, 6–0.

The public record in the work session identifies the purpose only as support for the Alzheimer’s Association “for the support of, like, the police and, of their path,” and did not provide further programmatic details during the discussion. The council did not solicit additional testimony about the grant at the time of the vote.

The allocation was announced during the joint session’s closing remarks and recorded on the meeting roll call. The council did not attach additional conditions or a reporting requirement on the record at the time of approval; any further program details or reporting obligations would be reflected in subsequent administrative or agenda materials.","At its Sept. 23 meeting the council approved a $5,000 fiscal-year 2026 contingency request for the Alzheimer’s Association to support an unspecified police-related program; the motion passed 6–0 on a roll call.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Huntington Middle School prioritized for June 2026 as city, schools report construction progress on Southeast Community Resource Area

City and schools push earlier budget schedule; officials explore revenue formula and 1% sales tax for school construction

Newport News reports SOL gains and higher graduation rate; district sets long-term proficiency goals

Newport News council approves $5,000 contingency grant to Alzheimer's Association