Chesterfield County holds community meeting for new “West Area High School”

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — More space to grow and room to learn for students in Chesterfield County is on its way.

Leaders gathered with community members for a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Cosby High School to share new details about the district’s new school.

Both Chesterfield County and project leaders urged residents to be present for the community meeting so that they could hear directly from those involved about what’s for now being called the “West Area High School.”

When completed, West Area High School will be the 14th high school in the county and the newest school to be constructed since 2006.

Around a dozen Chesterfield parents arrived to Cosby High School to make their voices heard when it came to making decisions about the new school.

Shawn Smith with Chesterfield County Public Schools says that the school will be a part of the community and the community is who needs to weigh in.

“Well, we’re building a school in this part of the community,” said Smith. “It’s part of the fabric of the community. So not just parents, but also every member of the community to have a say in the process.”

Smith and other company leaders partnering on the project shared plans for the inside and outside of the new school along with construction plans and timelines.

“What’s happening today is really about the facade of the building, the outside, the exterior of the building,” Smith added. “The public will have a chance beginning tonight for two weeks to vote on the exterior of the building.”

After the two-week voting period has come to a close, the board will tally the votes and share the results with the public.

They say when it comes to construction and other important elements of the school’s creation, community members should know exactly what to expect when the time comes.

“Along the way, once this is done, we will look at other processes down the road, including the name of the school, said Smith.”

The new school is expected to hold around 24,000 students, although it’s unclear at this time which schools in the district those students will be coming from.

The need for the building comes as Cosby high school is currently operating at 100% capacity.

“Well, tonight really kicked off the process for the Western Area High School,” finished Smith. “Right now, we’re seeing tremendous growth in this area of the county, really across all Chesterfield County right now, and looking to make some decisions in the near future regarding which schools will be impacted, to give some relief to some of those schools.”

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