Fluvanna County residents spoke, and the members of the Fluvanna County School Board listened. Though board members Tom Muir and Barbara Gibbons expressed some hesitations, Option 3 of the Domino Plan was chosen in a unanimous vote on Dec. 14.

“I can’t see Option 6 as a long-term positive. I can’t see Option 3 as a financial option for our county either. We haven’t shuffled anything around to make some major cost savings,” Gibbons said. “I’m having big trouble with both of these plans. I just think that there’s something we haven’t looked at.”

Brian Phillips, representative of the Rivanna District, stressed the need to choose the most economical option. 

“Option 3, in my eyes, is going to meet our educational needs. It’s the least costly to our taxpayers. We’ve tried to be fiscally responsible to our tax payers,” he said.

Based on the information presented to the School Board, Phillips strongly believed that Option 3 was the best choice. 

“We’ve asked for some intricate details ... we’ve looked at buses, every intricate detail. I don’t see any other plan that’s out there, other than plan 3, unless someone comes up with another plan. We have to move on this,” said Phillips.

Vice Chair Camilla Washington had no reservations in casting her vote for Option 3, and she felt there was no reason to postpone the decision any further. 

“We have spent months and months looking at plans, looking at options. We know exactly what’s feasible, what’s not feasible. Option 6 is not an option. We’d be doing our children a huge disservice. I think ... we’ve done the best we can do with the buildings we have on hand,” she said.

While William Hughes, the Cunningham District representative, had hoped to have more dialog with the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors, he was more than ready to cast his vote. He said he was confident that Option 3 would have a great positive impact on the children.

“Now we can bring our youngest of the kids ... into the buildings. It helps them start getting mentoring. It’s all about getting the education. We have a large waiting list for daycare and head start. I think this could help us help the parents,” said Hughes. “If you talk about apples and oranges, and Option 6 is the oranges, I like the apples.”

Superintendent Gena Keller talked about the positive feedback she has received from the community regarding the potential removal of the modular units, as planned in Option 3. 

“My conversations with people in the public ... 98 percent of people are ecstatic that we’re getting rid of those trailers,” Keller said.

Cunningham and Columbia elementary schools will definitely not be closing. However, Brian Phillips said that minor changes could be made to Option 3 if better alternatives are found. As it stands now, Option 3 will have the three current elementary schools housing only preschool through second grade.  Grades 3 and 4 will be housed in an upper elementary school. There will be one middle school with grades 5-7, and the new high school will hold grades 8-12.

Aware of the negative opinions many parents had, Chuck Winkler, assistant superintendent for Administrative Services and Personnel, addressed the issue of eighth-graders being put in with the high-schoolers. 

“I can assure you that the administrative teams are on board with making that transition seamless. I understand the anxiety as a parent,” he said.

After the school board members voted for Option 3, one woman in the audience asked, “Is it OK to cheer?” 

The rest of the crowd rose to its feet and erupted with applause.