‘It has created nothing but division’: Powhatan School Board, Board of Supervisors still at odds over school demolition

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Officials in Powhatan County have been clashing over the partial demolition of the Pocahontas Landmark Center. The Board of Supervisors have been pushing to take over the land, even after the school board voted 4-to-1 in June to keep it and demolish some of the building. 

“Maybe your experience was different than mine, but mine was push you in a corner, 'you will do this, or you will not get X.' Or 'if you want X, you better do this.' I don’t play that way," said School Board member for District 4 Dr. James Taylor during a May meeting.

School Board member for District 1 Vicki Hurt hasn't experienced this ferocity.

“I’m lucky I didn’t have that experience," she responded in the meeting. "Each of them gave a very professional, ‘We’re a team together, let’s solve this problem together.’”  

The Pocahontas Landmark Center, located at 4290 Anderson Highway, was previously a school and symbol of Powhatan County Public Schools ending segregation. It closed in 2018 after the county opened another middle school.  

Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Donati told 8News that all five members are on the same page and the board has been clear on their goals of renovating parts of the campus for community use -- but some School Board members disagree. 

“It has created nothing but division over the last month or so," Dr. Taylor said. 

Operated by Powhatan County Public Schools, three wings of the Pocahontas Landmark Center are set to be demolished.  

But Donati said the Board of Supervisors want to renovate it, possibly for a community center that’s already been added to the budget for the next decade. He said according to engineers, one of the wings is too damaged and should be demolished, but that two wings are "perfectly fine to be renovated and to use."

Donati estimated preliminary numbers will show renovation could be a third of the cost of a new build, but the School Board would have to agree to give supervisors control of the property -- something three of the five School Board members inferred has been contentious.  

“When I feel like that I’m getting pushed into a corner, and [it's] said, ‘Hey if you don’t do this, then,’ and then there’s a threat, that doesn’t sit well with me," Dr. Taylor said during the May meeting.

Donati said some of the meetings between the two groups of board members have been productive, but some have also gotten tense.

 “I would definitely not use the word ‘threatening,'" he said. "I think there’s a difference in opinion.”  

The county opened the Powhatan Training School in 1931, offering upper-level courses to Black students. The county then opened what became a segregated high school in 1937. It was initially called the Powhatan Colored School but was changed to Pocahontas High School in 1941. An elementary wing was added in 1950.

In 1969, the school became the integrated Pocahontas Middle School, and the high school was permanently closed.

The county opened a new middle school in 2018, closing Pocahontas Middle and making it the Pocahontas Landmark Center -- used as the school division’s administrators’ offices and the county’s first African American Cultural Arts Museum.  

Since the school closure following the 2017 to 2018 schoolyear, the school board has discussed what to do with the building.

Donati said supervisors made it clear that would stay the same and they'd be willing to give more office space if needed.

School Board members are split on that too. Jeanne Wade, School Board member for District 3, said she had not been told that, but Vicki Hurt said she had.

Discussions of what to do with the campus started when the middle school closed in 2018, leaving some school board members frustrated by the recent timing of the Board of Supervisors' request. Dr. Taylor said it felt like they'd waited until the last two minutes of the game.

“We really start to evaluate, ‘Is this the best move for the county or is there another option?’ Donati said. "And sometimes that happens in good time, sometimes it happens after the fact.” 

Demolition was scheduled to start July 14 -- one of multiple reschedules -- but was postponed because of permitting issues, according to a spokesperson for the school system.

“Here’s what the Board of Supervisors have shown me: that they have money for recreation, but they don’t have money for education," said chairwoman of the school board Susan Smith.

Donati told 8News he’s hoping the Board of Supervisors and school board can meet and discuss another path forward, and possibly a re-vote by the school board.

8News has requested interviews with the members of the School Board who have referred us to the meetings where this was discussed for their thoughts.

“The School Board has thoroughly investigated and studied this situation," Chairwoman Smith said in a statement. "We have voted and made the best decision for Powhatan County Public Schools.”

According to a spokesperson for the school system, following a June 24 Powhatan County School Board vote, demolition is estimated to cost a maximum of $830,614 -- which includes the following:

• $438,677 for demolition and all accompanying work
• $250,715 for a contingency fund
• $99,222 for the engineering contract
• $42,000 for relocating fiber connections