Powhatan School Board looking into legality of letting residents vote on partial demolition of Pocahontas Landmark Center

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Powhatan County School Board has voted on a meeting between top school and county leaders to discuss the fate of the Pocahontas Landmark Center (PLC).

For some, the former Pocahontas Middle School serves as a symbol of desegregation and could be renovated for community use. For others, the cost of renovating could be too much to taxpayers and could pose safety risks due to possible mold and asbestos -- and a caved in roof.  

The PLC, located at 4290 Anderson Highway, hasn’t been a school since 2018, but there are offices for school administrators and the African American Cultural Arts Museum.   

8News reported in September when the Board of Supervisors rejected the school board's permit to start demolishing parts of the PLC. But on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the school board voted 3-2 to appeal that.  

School board chair Susan Smith, Board of Supervisors chair Bill Donati, Superintendent Beth Teigen and County Administrator Will Hagy will discuss getting the ball rolling on a feasibility study and the legality of putting the partial demolition on a ballot.  

"This will give each voter the opportunity to speak representing their individual thoughts," said school board chair Susan Smith during the meeting.  

School board member Jeanne Wade was in support of this, because it's hard to tell how many residents are in support of what. She said she's received numerous emails from residents saying to move forward with demolition and only two against it.

This was the first time the idea of letting the public vote on this was suggested by Smith. It was even the first time some school board members heard the idea despite having two closed sessions about the PLC's fate. 

Board member Vicki Hurt said according to the Department of Elections, it’s illegal to put this matter on a ballot because "local issues are permitted to be placed on the ballot only if the question is authorized by statute or by charter.” 

"We don’t have the legal right to put that on the ballot," Hurt said during the meeting. "So, before you propose something, you guys need to check it out. Because you can’t do that.”  

"I'm so glad that you are our legal advice, we would obviously check that out," board member Dr. James Taylor responded. "This is just a proposal to move forward.”  

Some board members are also concerned about having to wait at least a year for this to be on a ballot as the PLC will continue to deteriorate.  

School board member Michele Ward addressed Dillon's Rule which is used in interpreting state law when there is a question of whether or not a local government has a certain power. She believes because there are no students using the school building, it shouldn't be the school system in control of it. 

“If we have surplus property, in the Dillon State, it’s really to be turned back over to the Board of Supervisors because it belongs to the people," she said during the meeting.  

The plan calls to demolish wings B, C and D of the PLC. The BOS said they began a study this year, which was left unfinished, that found the three wings could be renovated into a potential community center. The BOS said the cost of renovating the PLC “could potentially” be less than a new build on a similar amount of square footage, but did not give exact figures. 

Three school board members said the historic part of the school, the part below in white, will not be demolished.

Others say the feasibility study and applying for grants to fund renovation could take just as long. Hurt said she believed it would take "a few months top."

One suggested grant, the School Construction Assistance Program, would only cover 10% of that cost, the rest falling on the county.

It’s unclear when the meeting between the top school and county leaders will take place.  

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 PLC.