In a painful bait-and-switch, the U.S. Department of Education reversed course on which local organization should receive the former Federal Executive Institute property in Charlottesville.
In April, the Department’s Real Property Assistance Program told Charlottesville City Schools it would recommend the FEI campus be given to the school district at no cost to house its public preschool and administrative offices.
And then, last week, the Education Department took the decision back — saying that the University of Virginia’s proposal to use the facility for its Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program “provides the greatest public benefit.”
This is only a recommendation — not a decision. A different federal agency, the General Services Administration, has veto power.
Federal law gives the GSA 30 days to “disapprove” of the Education Department’s recommendation. If the agency takes no action within that window, the transfer typically proceeds as recommended.
A spokesperson for the GSA said the agency was not immediately available to answer questions about its process.
The FEI complex at 1301 Emmet St. North went up for grabs in February. That was when the Trump administration “eliminated” the FEI by executive order. The FEI, which provided leadership training to government officials, had been run from the Charlottesville campus for more than 50 years.
Federal law outlines a process for offering such vacant properties to local governments or public institutions at no cost for various public purposes — including education. In this case, City Schools and UVA put forward applications, along with other unnamed groups.
City Schools officials expressed “deep disappointment” with the sudden change of course.
“We simply cannot overstate what a setback this is,” City School Board Chair Emily Dooley wrote in a statement to district parents Monday. “The federal government has now taken this away for reasons that are frankly not clear.”
In a letter to Charlottesville City Schools, the Federal Real Property Assistance Program said it had been affected by “significant staff reductions and work reassignments” in recent months. Following further review of proposals for the FEI property, the agency determined that UVA’s proposal “best meets the Secretary’s [Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s] priorities for property reuse.”
It did not say what those priorities are.
When Charlottesville Tomorrow asked the Education Department to elaborate on the reasons for its decision, spokesperson Madi Biedermann responded by email, saying:
“The notifications that were sent out from the Department on April 29 did not include full consideration of the applicable regulatory factors. Upon further review, the Secretary [McMahon] determined that the University of Virginia’s proposal to use the FEI building as a permanent home for their ROTC program provides the greatest public benefit from among the applicants who expressed a desire to utilize the property.”
In its proposal for the property, UVA said it intends to use the campus “for our ROTC programs for our future armed service members.”
The university also hopes to use it to expand its School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Charlottesville Tomorrow requested a copy of UVA’s full proposal submitted to the Education Department, but did not receive it in time for publication.
City Schools had planned to transform the property into a preschool and administrative offices. School administrators said the acquisition of the FEI campus would allow them to reconfigure existing City Schools properties to create dedicated spaces for students with special needs, students in alternative middle and high school programs and career and technical education.
“Crucially, we are losing the chance to expand the schools’ physical footprint to get “breathing room” for future needs,” Dooley said in her statement to parents.
It’s unclear what the next steps are for the FEI property. UVA said it has reached out to the Department of Education for clarification.
