Roanoke County superintendent promises clean Cave Spring High School by first day of classes

Planned construction halted after lone bid fails to meet expectation

ROANOKE Co., Va. – Concerns over conditions at a local high school remain after the plan to start gutting it had to be scrapped.

Renovations were slated for Roanoke County's Cave Spring High School, but only one bid was submitted and it was way over budget. Now this fall students will instead return to the same building which was about to be worked on.

Photographs depicting mold and broken equipment inside the school were spread on social media and school leaders said it got like that because of the planned construction.

Now with construction in a holding pattern, they're cleaning and repairing the problems. They're promising parents the building will be ready for the first day of school which is only a month away.

"The bottom line is we are committed to making sure the environment is safe, of good quality for the students to learn in and that's to our benefit," Roanoke County acting Superintendent Ken Nicely said. "If students aren't in a good environment they're not going to learn as well so we want them to have those things."

School leaders said they're checking major functions like plumbing and air at other schools in the county to make sure they're not missing any problems. The school division has also refined its plan for the new school in the hopes to attract more construction bids, and specifically more bids that are closer to the target budget.

The school has a part of its website dedicated solely to the project. You can view the updates here.