Tensions rise at joint Council, School Board meeting on Jennie Dean

The Manassas City School Board and Council held a joint meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to discuss future plans for the new Jennie Dean Elementary School following the Board’s design approval on Feb. 13, 2024.

Council and board members met to move the process along and hopefully reach an agreement on a Special Use Permit (SUP) the School Board must obtain from the City Council before school construction may begin. Obtaining an SUP will move the decision to approve the designs and construction to the Planning Commission and then the City Council for a vote.

The meeting began with School Board Chair Suzanne Seaberg fielding questions from the Council about the approved design plan, E-2.5, including the size of the open field and the ability to use it for regulation games.

Councilmember Mark Wolfe said he did not like the school’s design.

“I don’t like it, but I’m willing to tolerate things or swallow, but I think the other issue becomes, obviously … what happens to the old facility,” Wolfe said. “I, for one — I’ll put it out there — I do not see a scenario where I’m willing to go forward with the school, and we retained old Dean.”

This comment sparked a debate between the Council and Board members, which lasted nearly the entire meeting; some members hesitated to move forward with a SUP without figuring out what would be done with the existing Jennie Dean building.

It’s unclear what will happen with the current Dean Elementary School, which dates back to the early 1960s. Councilmember Tom Osina said he wants to move forward with the process.

“I think the discussion about the old Dean and everything is an issue that is separate from the actual building of the school,” Osina said. “We can have future discussions on old Dean and share our thoughts. … I’d like to see us treat the two as separate for this meeting just so we can get this going into the SUP process.”

Officials said tearing down the existing Jennie Dean building would not be possible until the new one was built. Some council members requested language be included that the old building be torn down within 18 months of occupation of the new construction.

“My kids were in this school 30-plus years ago. It was a piece of crap then,” Wolfe, a member of Council since 2008, said. “Every time we talked about building a new Dean, the old Dean was going away because it was so bad.”

City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Newman said he was baffled about what was being asked of him now. He expressed frustration with the city, citing the district’s compromises to accommodate requests but seemingly not pleasing the entire Council.

“Well, [design 2.5] was the compromise based on the direction that was given to staff to do,” Newman said. “So, whatever we’re doing going forward … just be clear on what you want your city manager and this superintendent to do so that we don’t have to come back in here and feel like we’re being chastised for doing what we were asked to do.”

Osina asked if the SUP could get started today and have further discussions in April when the SUP gets to Council. Councilmember Ralph Smith said tearing down old Dean is not a part of the discussion.

“All these arguments that we are hearing could perhaps — are good — arguments against tearing it down,” Smith said. “But, from what I’m understanding, that’s not the issue we’re posed at this moment of this joint [meeting].”

A new Jennie Dean Elementary School has been a sticking point between the School Board and City Council for about a decade. In years past, the City Council voted to raise taxes to fund the new school because the School Board does not have taxing authority; only the Dean replacement was put on the back burner to focus on other projects, like the purchase of 8700 Centreville Road, the city’s largest private office building, to house its administration.

Ultimately, the School Board opted not to purchase the building after a heated debate with the City Council. Some councilmembers questioned the school division’s motives for purchasing the building when it had previously inked a deal with the Council to occupy the city’s old police station on Fairview Avenue, which remains empty after opening a new public safety center in Fall 2023.

This year, the City Council transferred $200 million to the school division, equating to 47 cents on every dollar the city collected in taxes. The school transfer is the largest single allocation in the city budget.