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Update on GW Security Vestibule

Nov 20
Posted by GW Town Crier in Join The PTA

Joy Pochatila (GWMS PTA President) attended the school board public hearing on Monday, November 14th to advocate for the Board to fully fund and accelerate the timeline of the construction of the security vestibule at GWMS. The Board also held a work session with City Staff after the hearing to ask follow-up questions. The following are a few points we wanted to share with our membership:

  • The funding for construction of the security vestibule was added to the CIP FY24 budget, meaning the earliest construction would begin is July 2024.  Mr. Finnigan, Director of Education Facilities, confirmed that design of the vestibule has already begun.
  • Willie Bailey, Ashley Simpson Baird, and Kelly Carmichael Booz all asked City Staff to move the funding of construction of the vestibule into this FY/school year (FY23).  Dr. Hart, Chief of Facilities and Operations, acknowledged the request and asked the School Board to identify which projects would be defunded in order to add the new budget item to this year.
  • Dr. Simpson Baird asked Dr. Hart to find a temporary plan to increase safety and security at the entrance, specifically measures that can be taken now through when construction can happen.

The GWMS PTA Executive Committee, as well as Alexandria PTAC, will send follow-up letters to the School Board and City Staff, asking for a status for both the temporary solutions to increase security and the funding for the construction of the vestibule. The Executive Committee will also encourage City Staff to seek input from GWMS Staff.

If you would like to hear the comments from the work session, the link is below and you can forward to minute 21:52 for Willie Bailey’s comments, followed by Ashley Simpson Baird and Kelly Carmichael Booz.  Overall, the discussion lasts about 6 minutes.

https://alexandriaschoolsva.new.swagit.com/videos/189541

The public hearing session link is below and GWMS PTA comments are at minute 8:55. There were also written comments from two parents that were also submitted and read at the end of the hearing:

https://alexandriaschoolsva.new.swagit.com/videos/189535


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