Stafford to purchase 8 trailers for Ferry Farm Elementary School

STAFFORD — Starting in October, Ferry Farm Elementary School will be home to eight modular classrooms that will not be built with restrooms.

It is the first time trailers will be used as classrooms in Stafford County.

The School Board held a special called meeting Wednesday evening to discuss and take action on using four double-modular classrooms and a single modular building for administrative staff.

The School Board approved the lease on Wednesday evening, which will cost the county a grand total of $219,500.

The eight classrooms and front office were in need of a new home when the School Board approved a $10.8 million renovation in December 2018 to the 1955 wing of the elementary school making it the oldest school in the county. The School Board then added another phase of the renovation in February which will cost the county $1.9 million.

The Board of Supervisors, which supplies the money to the School Board, approved funding for the renovation after rejecting a full-scale rebuild that was presented by the School Board in February 2018.

In March, the School Board requested that the design firm Moseley Architects had to create plans for a modular classroom.

The School Board then started two bidding processes, one in May and one in June, but each of the bids that the school division received back was either over budget or weren’t in line with the School Board’s requirements.

Dwyane McOsker who represents the George Washington district on the School Board expressed his frustration with the bidding process. Ferry Farm Elementary sits in his district.

“People are not bidding on this [modular construction] stuff,” McOsker said.

After not receiving any bids that the Board wanted to pursue, the School Board then entered into an existing contract with Henrico County Public Schools to lease modular classrooms.

School staff reported that the School Board would need to hire two temporary staff members to “aid in escorting students to and from the main building and to aid in the safety and security of the students.”

Aquia representative Irene Egan was the only dissenter in the vote saying that she was concerned with the lack of bathrooms.

The School Board expects the installation of the modular classrooms to begin later this month and be fully furnished by Oct. 13.

Classes, which start Aug. 12, will be held in the existing Ferry Farm building until the modular classrooms are completed.

Griffis-Widewater representative Jamie Decatur was absent for Wednesday’s discussion and vote.

Around this time last year, the School Board was presented with a $99,500 modular classroom that was planned to be fully furnished and completed with a restroom. The modular classroom was appropriated by the Board of Supervisors in order to reduce capacity concerns at Hartwood Elementary School.

The School Board ultimately rejected the modular classroom last year with the dissenters being Patricia Healy, Rock Hill District, Dewayne McOsker, George Washington District, and Pamela Yeung, Garrisonville District.

Sarah Chase, Falmouth District, was absent from the 2018 meeting.

Modular classrooms have been a favored way of housing students at overcrowded schools in neighboring Prince William County.

In 2018, Prince William County Public Schools used more than 200 modular classrooms to teach students across the county. After spending more than a year considering how to reduce that number, School Board members developed a plan to eliminate the trailers by 2027.

That plan to remove all modular classrooms will end up costing Prince William County $143.2 million.