Cub Run Elementary School students could be the first in Fairfax County to attend a “swing space” while their school gets renovated in the future.
The school board’s Facilities Planning Advisory Council (FPAC) recommends that Fairfax County Public Schools consider piloting the concept — where students and staff are temporarily relocated to pre-existing facilities during construction — with the Centreville school.
Design work on a renovation of the school is planned to start in fiscal year 2026, which begins on July 1, 2025, according to the annual report that FPAC Chair Katie Hermann shared at a school board work session last Thursday (June 20).
The report calls for FCPS to consider the method as a solution for school renovations throughout the county.
“These are large, multi-million dollar projects. They take time, but when they’re students in the building, it often seems to extend a project, obviously,” Hermann said.
Hermann said FPAC recommended Cub Run because the construction date allows for enough time to identify a potential facility to serve as the swing space.
Though Cub Run is using just 84% of its capacity right now, it’s projected to reach 106% by the 2028-2029 school year, according to the FCPS Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2025-2029. The renovation project will cost an estimated $82.6 million, which is currently unfunded, but the school is next in line for inclusion in a bond referendum.
“The other thing is…obviously school renovations are impactful to all children, but I think it might be safe to say that the youngest students might be most impacted,” Herman said, adding that there may be an opportunity to use a site near Cub Run as a swing space.
Before FCPS starts a pilot program, Hermann suggested additional research to determine if swing spaces actually offer financial benefits for renovation projects.
“Does that save funds on the short term because instead of a renovation project taking three or four years, maybe it takes two?” she asked rhetorically.
Hermann said the council hasn’t yet researched potential sites that could be used as swing spaces for Cub Run students, noting that FPAC is only advocating for a pilot “to see if it’s even worth moving forward with swing spaces as a regular solution.”
Ilryong Moon, an at-large member of the school board, questioned if FPAC considered acquiring additional sites for swing spaces as opposed to utilizing existing space.
“I think that’s why the pilot was kind of a suggestion as a way to see what is feasible and what may not work,” Hermann said. “Obviously, the county is large and has many different types of parcels that FCPS may own, or spaces that may not be owned by FCPS, but could be leased.”
Hermann said there might be pockets of the county with vacant office buildings that could be leased.
“Sure, it would definitely require money investment to have that happen. However, there’s quite a vacancy rate in office buildings in the county,” she said.
Arlington Public Schools explored the concept but halted plans to close Nottingham Elementary School and convert it into a swing space after families and staff protested. APS found that none of its upcoming renovations would need a swing space, though it didn’t rule out the possibility for future projects, FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow reported.
