Update 6/7/23 - The RFP for counterproposals has been published. Bidders will have until 9/11/23 to submit a proposal including detailed cost estimates to NPS for consideration. Follow the link below to read the full RFP. Here are some relevant excerpts:

"In addition to any other posting requirements under the Act or this Policy, at some point during the proposal review process, but at least 30 days prior to the School Board's voting on an interim or comprehensive agreement to present to the Council for approval, the School Board shall hold a public hearing on the proposals that have been received." Section F.C.1, on page 16."An optional pre-proposal conference will be held at 10:00 AM EST on June 20, 2023 at the School Administration Building, 800 E. City Hall Ave – Superintendent Conf. Rm 1200, Norfolk VA 23510. The purpose of this conference is to allow potential offerors an opportunity to present questions and obtain clarification relative to any facet of this solicitation.While attendance at this conference will not be a prerequisite to submitting a proposal, offerors who intend to submit a proposal are encouraged to attend. Bring a copy of the solicitation with you. Any
changes resulting from this conference will be issued in a written addendum to the solicitation."

UPDATE 5/17/23 - The School Board has accepted the PPEA proposal for consideration. They now have 90 days to accept counterproposals, after which all the proposals will be reviewed and evaluated. Continue to watch this space as well as @ghent.neighborhood.league and @preservenfk for updates.Bottom line: for now, the school will not be demolished.

UPDATE 5/16/23 - Thanks to everyone who has been steadily working and patiently waiting over the last 6 months. The alternative plan mentioned in our last update has been released. Although the full proposal is not yet available online, here is the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2023
Contact: Eric Stichler, Heartland Construction
[email protected]
757-961-2880Our team of builders, architects and developers is pleased to announce a proposal to construct a brand new, state-of-the art Maury High School, while saving the historic building and repurposing it into housing. This proposal has been submitted to Norfolk Public Schools under the Public Private Educational Facilities Infrastructure Act of 2002. Commonly referred to as a PPEA, this is a turnkey proposal to design and construct a new Maury High School adjacent to the existing school, which would stay in operation throughout construction. Once teachers and students move into the new school, the original Maury building will be restored and renovated into new housing with the help of historic tax credits. The attached seven-page document from our PPEA proposal describes this concept in more detail.Over many months and years, the community has been discussing the best way to replace the aging Maury High School. Until now, this discussion has been framed as an “either-or” decision: EITHER move teachers and students into mobile classrooms and renovate the existing building over many years, OR build a new school next door, move the teachers and students into the new facility, then demolish the historic building. However, we believe there is a third way, which represents a win-win for Norfolk Public Schools and the community. Our proposed design offers the following benefits:• Constructs a new, modern school incorporating all the spaces in the Education Specifications
• Uses a “build first, move second” approach to ensure that students stay connected to each other and do not have to use mobile classrooms
• Avoids fracturing the community over demolition of a treasured cultural asset
• Reduces long-term operation costs by 2/3 of the cost of the recently completed five NPS PPEA schools through high performance building strategies to save money for NPS and taxpayers
• Provides much-needed housing, including 10% Affordable Housing, for the community
• Address larger community issues, such as climate change, resilience, and neighborhood connectivityThe design/build/develop team is comprised of the following members:
Heartland Construction, heartlandconstructionva.com
Work Program Architects, wparch.com
VMDO Architects, vmdo.com
The Monument Companies, themonumentcompanies.com

UPDATE 12/14 - As the Board noted last week, another plan for Maury was submitted. That plan is not yet publicly available but must be disclosed if it will be considered. The Board will be reviewing that plan in a closed session today and then holding a discussion/decision on Maury tonight. The Board is not open to public comment, but if you can attend, please do to let them know we are paying attention. Here's the 12-14 NSB Meeting Agenda.If you can't attend but want to view the livestream you can do so on SwagIt, YouTube, or tune in to WNPS Ch. 47.UPDATE 12/8 - Thanks to everyone that came out last night. You can view the public comment meeting period below:

You can read all the public comments submitted in writing on the meeting agenda page on NSB's BoardDocs site.UPDATE 12/4 - The School Board has moved the time of the meeting to 6:30 PM on Dec 7.**UPDATE 12/2 ** - It looks likely that the vote on the MHS demolition will be taken at the NPS Board meeting on Dec 7. The agenda has not been posted on NPS' website yet.Register to speak at the meeting
OR
Make a public comment by emailUPDATE 10/30 - As of today, the survey has been closed. Please continue to email your policymakers and use social media to speak out on this issue.

What's Happening?

The Norfolk Public Schools recently presented a draft recommendation to the school board to demolish the historic Maury High School building and replace it with a new Four-Story classroom building. The NPS rejected plans that, at comparable cost, would have increased the size of Maury and completely renovate the existing structure. The NPS defends its “demolish
and replace” recommendation based on the endorsement of 53 people that attended two public meetings and one virtual meeting with faith leaders. This is an unacceptably low sampling. Outreach from ten of Norfolk’s Civic Leagues seeking a meeting and further discussion of the NPS plans has been rebuffed. The fate of the 1910 Maury High School Building is being rushed with next to no stakeholder or alumni input.

What can I do?

Update - the Dec 7 board meeting agend has been posted here:

view the agenda

Please show up to speak your mind! We have provided the School Board's instructions for doing so properly:

All of the business meetings will be evening meetings with the formal open session beginning at 7:00 p.m 6:30 pm. All School Board meetings will be held in the School Administration Building, 800 East City Hall Avenue, Room 1202, unless otherwise indicated.If you would like to provide public comments in person for Agenda and Non-Agenda items, you may sign up at the beginning of the meeting until 7 p.m. or call/email the School Board Clerk ([email protected]) prior to the start of the meeting. **The School Board does not respond to public comments. ** [emphasis added]

If you plan to attend, please reach out to us! As the School Board notes, there is limited seating available. Directions are below:

If you are not able to attend or do not need to show up in person, you may also watch the meeting on a livestream here (swagit.com link) or here (YouTube stream).

The Survey

This section no longer applies, as the survey was closed without announcement on November 30. We will have to pursue other options.

Tell your neighbors

We also ask you to share your comments with your circle of friends and neighbors. Informing the community about the NPS plans for the future of Maury High School is now the responsibility of neighbors, alumni, friends of preservation, and civic leagues. Please take the time to weigh in on this very important matter. It is to the benefit of everyone to retain this world class building for the education of the children in our community. City Council will pay to renovate. There is no reason to demolish the 1910 Maury High School. A new four-story classroom building can be built and the existing building can be saved.

To start the conversation, use the hashtag

Subscribe to the Telegram channel for updates:

Email Policymakers

As we close in on the vote to demolish Maury, we are limited in our options to speak up. If you want your comments to be seen by the School Board, you have the following options (from the NPS website):

Public comments are received for School Board Business Meetings only or public hearings and may be provided in-person (limited seating), or accepted via email at [email protected] by 4:30 p.m. the day prior to a School Board meeting and posted on BoardDocs for public view. We cannot guarantee anonymity for those submitting public comments. You are required to note "Please post for Public Comment” or “Do not post for Public Comment” in the subject line or within your e-mail message. All comments will be provided to board members for that meeting.Karen Tanner, Interim Clerk of the School Board
800 E. City Hall Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23510
[email protected]
(757) 628-3994 (w)

Hit this button to send a pre-addressed email to the policymakers listed below.

Mr. Richard C. Fraley, Sr.
Chief Operations Officer
Norfolk Public Schools
[email protected]Mr. Carlos Clanton
School Board Chair
[email protected]Dr. Noelle M. Gabriel
School Board Vice Chair
[email protected]Ms. Tanya K. Bhasin
Ward 2 Member
[email protected]Ms. Lauren D. Campsen
Ward 5 Member
[email protected]Mr. Rodney A. Jordan
Superward 7 Member
[email protected]Dr. Adale M. Martin
Ward 1 Member
[email protected]Ms. Tiffany Moore-Buffaloe
Ward 4 Newley-elected
Email address pendingKenneth Cooper Alexander, PhD
Mayor
[email protected]Martin Thomas, Jr.
Vice Mayor, Ward 1
[email protected]Larry “Chip” Filler
City Manager
[email protected]Courtney R. Doyle
Ward 2
[email protected]Andria P. McClellan
Superward 6
[email protected]

Join the Campaign

If you're as passionate as we are about preserving this historic building and want to contribute to the campaign, please drop us a line or request to join the Coordinating Committee on Telegram: