Schools
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The Spotswood High School District Has The Highest Priced Current Listings |
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 The graph above takes a look at the list prices of current listings of resale (not new) homes for sale in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. The price shown is the median list price, so as to say that... In the Broadway High School district, half of the current listings are priced at or above $342,400 and half are priced at or below $342,400. Likewise... In the Spotswood High School district, half of the current listings are priced at or above $609,450 (!) and half are priced at or below $609,450. | |
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How Should Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Think About The School Impact Of Previously Approved, Unstarted, Residential Developments? |
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 In reviewing a recently proposed rezoning request for a new residential development, I found this insightful comment from Rockingham County Public Schools... "This property is located in the Spotswood High School District. RCPS estimates this would generate an additional 25 students at Cub Run Elementary, 13 students at Montevideo Middle School, and 16 students at Spotswood High School. With proposed redistricting in the next year, each school will have the capacity to handle this increase in enrollment. However, it should be noted, that we estimate the cumulative effect of this development and others approved in the last 3 years once all are 100% built out would bring Cub Run near capacity." The last part is interesting and I don't know how the County plans to handle this situation... "However, it should be noted, that we estimate the cumulative effect of this development and others approved in the last 3 years once all are 100% built out would bring Cub Run near capacity." I believe this dynamic exists in both the City and County at the moment. If most or all residential developments that have been approved are built in the next few years then quite a few schools would likely be at or over capacity. I'm not sure how the County (or the City) should factor that dynamic into decisions about whether to approve additional proposed developments. Should the County and City assume that all approved developments will be built soon, and hesitate to approve more based on the theoretical potential cumulative impact of the developments that have not begun? Should the County and City ignore the potential cumulative impact of developments that have not begun and evaluate each new rezoning proposal based solely on the direct impact on schools for that one development? Perhaps they need to be somewhere in between these two extremes? Most new developments -- on their own -- won't cause a school or schools to be beyond capacity. If all approved and proposed new developments are built within the next few years it seems likely that some or many schools would be at or beyond capacity. But many (most?) approved developments have not been started... it is unclear if or when many of them will be developed. | |
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Rockingham County School Redistricting Approved |
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 On January 27, 2020 the Rockingham County School Board approved the following redistricting decisions... 1. The South River Elementary School attendance area will be part of the East Rockingham High School attendance area beginning with the 2020/2021 school year. 2. Students who attend 5th grade at South River Elementary School will transition to 6th grade at Elkton Middle School, beginning with this year's 5th-grade class. 3. Students who currently attend Montevideo Middle School as 8th graders and live in the South River School District will transition to 9th grade at East Rockingham High School for the 2020/2021 school year (sibling exceptions below). There are quite a few grandfathering rules that affect these changes. Read all about it here... And more broadly... | |
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When Buying A Home, Keep In Mind That School Districts Can Change |
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 In the news lately...
There are a few more possible changes in Rockingham County, but the above is a sampling of possible changes. Read about the plans for change in Rockingham County Public Schools here. All of this is to say that if you are buying a home, and one of the critical factors is whether it is in school district X or school district Y, then we'll likely want to check to see if you are in an area that might be affected by changes that are currently being discussed -- AND -- you should know that further changes in school districts could take place before your sweet little Johnny (currently 2 months old) is old enough to go to high school. As a random side note, the Rockingham County school district map (shown above) downloadable here does not appear to have chnaged in the past nine years! So, I suppose change had to happen eventually... | |
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Rezoning Requested For 86 Condos on Boyers Road |
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 Randy Cosner (Cosner Investments, LLC) is requesting the rezoning of 5.9 acres of a 10 acre parcel on Boyers Road to allow for 86 condominiums to be built. The property is currently zoned A2, and the proposed zoning is Planned Multi-Family. This would allow for 86 condos with 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms, for a total of 186 bedrooms in four separate buildings surrounding common areas. The full rezoning request can be found here. Here's what the proposed site plan would look like...  Per the rezoning application, the development would be called Locust Grove Village and would "provide a unique living opportunity for those inclined toward the beneficial aspects of community and socialization in a rural setting." Here is a rendering of what the buildings might look like...  A few details from the developer's narrative include... "Specifically, Locust Grove Village will house no more than 86 individual condominiums containing a mixture of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units. Units will be clustered into four buildings of 20-22 units apiece, with a majority of these units having a ‘townhouse' style and appearance. Building ‘corners' will be comprised of six condominium units served by a common entry and stairwell. Each pair of buildings will encircle a central green, with each townhouse-style condo having direct access through their own private courtyard. Half of the corner units will have balconies/courtyards that face the common green (interior), while the other half will face the exterior." "The central greens will be improved with tasteful landscaping (mixture of trees and shrubbery), paved walkways, a central gazebo, charcoal grills, and benches, intended to promote resident interaction and sense of community. If desired by residents, allowances will be made for community gardens, to be maintained by the residents themselves, and thereby promoting a sense of pride and ownership within the community. Pedestrian connectivity between the greens will be provided through walkways and a mid-block crosswalk through the parking area." "In sum, Locust Grove Village is intended to serve a growing desirability for attractive, communal living opportunities within a rural setting. Through emphasis of common areas and promotion of interaction between residents, Locust Grove Village will position itself as the premier condominium-based community within Rockingham County." The Rockingham County Planning Commission reviewed this rezoning request at their January 2019 meeting. Their main concerns, per the minutes, seemed to be:
The rezoning request was unanimously tabled at the Planning Commission meeting. We'll have to wait and see if the request will be reviewed and discussed again, but at this point these condos "might be" built -- because the rezoning has not yet been approved. | |
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Land for New High School Was To Be Student Housing, then Convocation Center |
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 Have you heard Harrisonburg needs a second high school? The current (only) high school in the City is beyond capacity. As such, the City has been evaluated various pieces of land to find a suitable new site for the new high school -- and now they have made a decision. Background... Owners of median priced City homes might have to pay $26 more per month to fund new City high school So, back to the location... The parcel of land shown above is 60 acres located between South Main Street (Route 11) and Interstate 81. The City intends to purchase this land for five million dollars from JMU. But JMU has actually owned it for a few years. You see, this land was actually originally slated to be used for college student housing! More background... So... the land was originally going to house 466 apartments for college students...  And then it was to be the site of JMU's new convocation center...  And now, the site of Harrisonburg's second high school. Read today's Daily News Record article for further context... | |
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Owners of median priced City homes might have to pay $26 more per month to fund new City high school |
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 Numbers are funny. All of these statements are true based on current projections:
I'm guessing that if you ask most parents of school aged kids in the City if they'd be willing to pay $26 per month such that their child would not be in an overcrowded, not-so-ideal, learning environment for high school, they'd likely be quick to say yes. That said, this $26 per month increase would need to be paid for 25 years -- but for a parent of a child in the school system, I'm guessing that would still seem to be a reasonable cost. I'm also guessing that City property owners who do not have children in the local school system would LOVE for their property taxes to NOT increase. And I'll even go a step further -- I am guessing that they don't really want school aged children to have an overcrowded, not-so-ideal, learning environment -- it's probably just more about the increased tax burden. Anyhow. Numbers are funny. Read today's Daily News Record article, and feel free to form your own opinions. There seem to be plenty of them circulating through our community about this topic. :) | |
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Make your voice heard in the updated Comprehensive Plan for the City of Harrisonburg |
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 The City of Harrisonburg is in the midst of updating the Comprehensive Plan for the City. As per the City.... The Comprehensive Plan presents a vision of Harrisonburg's future. It identifies steps to move toward that vision by providing information about current conditions, long-term goals and objectives, and recommended implementation strategies. As described in the Code of Virginia, the Comprehensive Plan is general in nature. Harrisonburg's Plan addresses a wide range of issues including but not limited to: land use, housing, education, transportation, recreation, the preservation of historic and natural resources, and economic development. The plan serves as a long-term guide for the community, and it helps City leaders with setting policies and decision-making. So, basically, what do you want the City of Harrisonburg to be in 10 or 20 years? Discussions taking place and decisions being made right now will affect that future, and you have the opportunity to be a part of the conversation! Better yet -- there are several Public Workshops coming up that will allow you to chime in on topics near and dear to your heart.... Education; Arts, Culture, and Historic Resources; and Community Engagement & CollaborationSo, mark your calendars, and get involved in the discussions and decisions to help shape the future our our great City! Also of note.... Lots of Q&A's about the Comprehensive Plan update can be found here. General information about the Comprehensive Plan update can be found here. | |
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Harrisonburg could never have enough student housing! |
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 OK, OK, that's probably not true -- Harrisonburg probably does not have an infinite need for student housing. Just consider my title, then, to be an intro to all of the alternative perspectives that have been shared with me since I wrote these two posts.... Does Harrisonburg need more Off Campus Student Housing? Does New College Student Housing Increase the Demands on Local Elementary Schools? OK -- here goes -- all the reasons I might be wrong, and all of this new student housing might be OK, or even a good thing.... 1. JMU is growing! All of this student housing is necessary -- JMU is continuing to grow, and they are not building on campus fast enough for their growth, so the private sector must build and rent housing to students in order to meet that growing demand. 2. Denying growth just pushes it elsewhere. If the City decided to stop permitting new student housing communities to be built, that would just push developers to build them in the County, or push students to live in otherwise owner occupied neighborhoods. 3. This is an affordable way to get workforce housing. There isn't much truly affordable rental housing being built -- and older student housing complexes being effectively turned into workforce housing by virtue of students being attracted to new student housing communities is not necessarily a bad thing. It may be the most affordable way to create affordable or workforce housing. 4. Bring on the wrecking ball. If even more student housing is built, the rental rates will fall even lower on the oldest complexes, devaluing those properties to the point where it will make sense to just knock them down and build new housing -- thus, eliminating the older, outdated housing. 5. How much regulation do you want "the government" to do? If the government (planning commission, city council, staff) should start making judgement calls about how much student housing is too much student -- and thus regulating what landowners (and student housing developers) can and cannot do -- should they also start governing other segments of the private sector? Should they regulate how many hair salons exist? How many banks are permitted to operate? How many restaurants can open? How many Realtors can sell homes? :) OK -- again -- I don't necessarily agree with all of the perspectives above, but I believe it is important to consider these counterpoints when thinking about how our community should be planning for the future as it pertains to student housing, land use, property taxes, schools, etc. And, as I mentioned to a reader in response to their comments.... I don't know if new student housing projects should or should not be denied - but I think the local community needs to fully understand the impact of continuing to approve more student housing communities. If older student housing communities become workforce housing, great, no problem -- but let's realize that this is the result of approving new student housing communities, and make sure that infrastructure (schools, for example) are in place for the new workforce housing that we have indirectly created. | |
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Does New College Student Housing Increase the Demands on Local Elementary Schools? |
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 Traditional logic would say no -- the construction of new college student housing in Harrisonburg won't increase the load on elementary schools, as most college students do not have elementary school aged children.... Going a step further, I would guess that some local government staff and elected officials MIGHT (?) use this traditional logic when thinking about whether to approve rezonings, or other approvals, for new student housing to be built in the Harrisonburg area. But wait - what if the following sequence happens (thanks Deb, with some revisions)....
I think we have seen this happen over the past 20 years in Harrisonburg, in cycles, as large quantities of student housing is built in waves. And think about it, from the other direction, for a moment -- we all know that the local elementary school population is growing -- but why, and where? It's not as if local developers and builders are out building an extraordinary number of townhomes or starter homes for young families, causing an influx of new elementary school students. So -- if the elementary school population is rising, and it's not because of an increase in the stock of owner occupied real estate in Harrisonburg, then.... 1. Perhaps this elementary (or K-12, really) school enrollment growth is, contrary to what we'd otherwise believe, a direct result of an increase in college student housing. 2. Perhaps we need to think about the fiscal impact of educating more elementary (and then middle and high) school students when we think about approving yet another student housing complex. 3. Perhaps, if building new student housing when we might not really need it, leads to increased demands on our local K-12 schools, then maybe we need to pay more attention to whether that student housing is needed. Just some thoughts to ponder as we think about and plan for the future here in the City of Harrisonburg -- and Rockingham County. | |
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How do YOU think Harrisonburg should accommodate an increasing high school student population? |
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 Have you heard? There are more high school students to be taught in Harrisonburg than can readily fit inside of the high school! There are three options being considered:
 A rendering of the potential ADDITION from Mosely Architects....  There are pros and cons of each option, but the High School Space Study Committee has recommended building a new high school. But YOUR OPINION is wanted, needed, welcomed! Click here to read up on the options, pros and cons. Click here to voice your opinion. | |
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Construction Progressing on Bluestone Elementary |
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 click the image above for a larger version of this photo Construction is moving right along on Bluestone Elementary, being built on Garbers Church Road across from Harrisonburg High School. Excerpts follow from an April 23, 2016 Daily News Record article....
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How Much Will A New High School Cost City Homeowners? |
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 Here is a grand oversimplification:
As shown above, it depends on the value of your home. These examples are based on the potential need for a $0.175 increase (per $100 of assessed value) in the tax rate. Increasing the tax rate from $0.85 to $1.025 would result in....
So -- yes -- this would be a drastic increase (20.5%) one-year increase in the real estate tax rate. But when broken down to the actual increased cost per month, it does not seem quite as overwhelming. Further reading from the Daily News Record: | |
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City of Harrisonburg Approves Elementary, Middle School Redistricting Plan |
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 The City of Harrisonburg School Board has approved the redistricting plan for the City elementary and middle schools to go into effect this coming (2017-18) school year. The final public hearing took place this past Tuesday, and no members of the public spoke to provide any additional feedback about any further recommended changes. Some excerpts from today's Daily News Record....
Read the full DNR article here. | |
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Harrisonburg City Public Schools Redistricting Information |
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 Click here to download the proposed Elementary School and Middle School maps. (current as of 11/7/2016, check here for updates) If you haven't heard, Harrisonburg City Public Schools are in the midst of a redistricting process, which may change which elementary school or middle school your child will attend in the City of Harrisonburg. This redistricting is a result of the changes required by the forthcoming opening (Fall 2017) of Bluestone Elementary School on Garbers Church Road. A few highlights to address some FAQ's....
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Dirt is moving to build new elementary school (Bluestone Elementary) in Harrisonburg |
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 view a larger image Dirt is moving on Garbers Church Road as the City of Harrisonburg works to construct a new elementary school -- next to Heritage Oaks Golf Course and across the street from Harrisonburg High School. Read all about the plans for this school in this Daily News Record article from April. | |
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Growth in City of Harrisonburg Elementary Schools |
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 Enrollment grew over 15% in elementary schools in the City of Harrisonburg over the past five years. Read more at Old South High and read about some of the potential reasons at StatChat blog from the Weldon Cooper Center. | |
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Today is STEM Day at the Valley Mall (10AM-4PM) |
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 Join Harrisonburg City Public Schools as they launch their first ever Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Day today. There will be over 50 interactive exhibits, displays, hands on experiments and so much more! Bring the kids out and foster their love for fun and entertaining education. Click here to view details of the exhibits at today's STEM day, including Wind Energy, Tower of Cards, Hovercrafts, Sink and Float, Puff Mobiles, Recycle Regatta, Robotics, Lego League, Square Wheel Bike, Ooblek Jog, Star Lab, Engineering, Chemistry Sizzles, Computer Drawing, and more! Visit the STEM Day web site here to view a promotional video.... | |
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City kids can (likely) attend County schools |
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Do you live in the City of Harrisonburg, but want your son or daughter to attend school in Rockingham County? Are you considering moving from the County to the City, but still want your son or daughter to attend school in Rockingham County? Rockingham County is continuing a program that will allow students that do not live in Rockingham County to apply to attend school in Rockingham County. A few notes....
Read today's DNR article on this topic here. | |
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Where Is That Rockingham County School? |
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Thanks to Justin, we easily figure that out (see the map below)! I found this great map on the "Schools" page of the Rockingham County Public Schools web site. You'll find links to each school, and other great information there as well. View Larger Map | |
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Scott Rogers
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