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The land sale has been approved and the rezoning is working its way through the Buckingham Planning Commission. Now the question remains as to what the planned expansion will look like for Central Virginia Christian School and when construction would finish. 

To recap, the school is located at 164 Industrial Park Road and needs the extra space in order to achieve two goals, as Kemper Beasley III explained to the Buckingham supervisors back in December. Beasley serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the school. First, the goal is to add a high school. Second, the school board wants to accept more students, by adding one more class per grade. Currently, CVCS only has one class per grade. 

If all goes as planned, Beasley told The Herald, classes will be available for 9th and 10th grade students this August in temporary housing. That by itself marks a major milestone for the small private school, which has served students only through eighth grade since it was established in 2002. 

Detailing the high school project

“The highschool curriculum will offer two tracks: an honors track and a standard track for those seeking either collegiate or regular diplomas. However, “one of the most anticipated additions,” Beasley added, “is the school’s emphasis on vocational training. Based on our surveys with parents, we thought sports was going to be a big thing, if not sports then Dual Enrollment things of that nature, but (the largest) by far is the desire for vocational training.” 

To meet this demand, every high school student would participate in a structured internship program starting their freshman year in diverse, local areas; the program would lead students to finding their specific interests in later grades, from fields such as welding to athletics to agriculture. 

“This program will allow students to explore their interests while building practical skills for the future,” Beasley explained. 

CVCS’s mission is to provide faith-based education while meeting the priorities of students and families.The planned high school facilities will feature a full-size gym with a stage, owing to their theatre program, along with fine arts rooms, science labs, and a cafeteria to support both academic and extracurricular activities. Extracurricular offerings will include existing teams like basketball and volleyball, as well as the school’s new worship troupe. 

“We understand as a school of our size, we are going to be limited,” Beasley said. “We don’t anticipate a football team– we are shooting to add baseball and softball teams, maybe as soon as the spring, and agricultural programs, like 4H or FFA.” 

Central Virginia Christian School deals with rezoning 

There is a second piece that has to happen, however, before any construction could begin. The Buckingham industrial park property in question is currently zoned NC-1, which is neighborhood commercial. That poses a problem, as private schools are not allowed by right to build there. 

So even now that the land sale has been approved, the school won’t be able to build on the property until it gets rezoned. The school’s current buildings were allowed to be built under a conditional use permit, getting permission from supervisors even though the zoning didn’t technically allow for it. 

As for rezoning the area, Buckingham supervisors started that process back in November, taking a vote to ask the planning commission for their recommendation. And to be clear, this is a request for the planning commission to only look at rezoning the front two thirds of the property to VC-1, which stands for Village Center. The commission then has up to 120 days to give a recommendation, which would put it around March if it takes that long. The commission started discussions during their December meeting and will continue them this month. 

What about a construction timeline? 

So if the rezoning for Central Virginia Christian School gets approved and everything else goes according to plan, what would the construction timeline look like? Beasley said the timeline for expansion is both ambitious and carefully considered.
“The hope is for construction to happen in the summer of 2025,”  Beasley explained. The high school’s permanent facility, pending rezoning approval, will be located east of the current property, joining the existing campus. While construction won’t begin immediately, Beasley emphasized that the temporary arrangements will allow the school to move forward with its expansion goals while maintaining momentum for the long-term project. 

“We have also felt called to expand our classes now,” Beasley added. “Currently we have one class per grade. This year we added one Pre-K class, so next year there will be two Kindergarten classes, and it will grow at that rate.” As the project progresses, the school anticipates providing updates to the community on its development. 

While challenges like rezoning and construction lie ahead, the school’s leadership remains firm in its vision. By blending programs with the school’s core mission, CVCS aims to expand its campus to provide students with an education that balances academics, faith, and hands-on experience. “I’ve been on the Board prior to being married and having children– it’s even more awesome seeing my own kids benefit from the school. All of us on the Board want to see the students of CVCS become good citizens of Buckingham and their future communities,” Beasley said. 

Editor’s note: Reporter Abby Dowdy wrote this story for the Farmville Herald.