Charlottesville City Schools selected to proceed with acquisition of Federal Executive Institute

The quick and sudden end of an entity created to train the national government’s work force appears to be the City of Charlottesville’s gain. The federal government has selected Charlottesville City Schools to be the recipient of the former Federal Executive Institute pending finalization of an agreement.

“Between our preschool programming and alternative programming, there’s just a lot of opportunities here for us to support our school and school community,” said Superintendent Royal Gurley Jr.

The U.S. Department of Education notified Charlottesville City Schools on April 29 that their application to acquire the Federal Executive Institute has been accepted.

“Because the property will serve an educational purpose, the division will be granted a Public Benefit Allowance discount of 100 percent, acquiring FEI through the Federal Real Property Assistance Program at no cost,” reads an information release sent out that afternoon.

Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders had learned of the opportunity to seek what is now considered surplus property.

“The reality is that we gained access to a facility that makes a huge difference in how we support our school system,” Sanders said.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 10 to close the agency out of a belief that the Federal Executive Institute “has enlarged and entrenched Washington, D.C.’s managerial class, a bloated system far removed from the needs of American families.”

The University of Virginia also submitted an application but were told they did not make the cut on Wednesday.

“We respect the Department’s decision and celebrate the opportunities this acquisition will afford the school system and community,” reads a statement from University Communications. “UVA remains committed to collaborating with the City on educational programs.”

At a press conference Wednesday, Gurley said there was an early effort to collaborate with UVA at the site but both learned a joint application was not possible under federal rules.

If the process is finalized, Charlottesville City Schools will use the site as a central location for pre-Kindergarten education and activities. That will free up space that already had money allocated in the capital improvement program to move forward with a central pre-K facility at Walker Upper Elementary School.

According to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Finance and Operations, the approval is contingent.

“Our approval is based on the condition and requirement that a clear majority of the property is used
consistently for PreK classroom use with administrative use secondary,” reads the letter from Barbara Shawyer of the Federal Real Property Assistance Program.

There’s still work to be done according to Sanders.

“This was a very quick process,” Sanders said. “We need to get our professionals in to really evaluate the building, take a good hard look at the plans, making sure that the things that we’ve been able to dream up as to what we think will work can actually work.”

Sanders said there may also need to be some back and forth with the federal government. Part of the Federal Executive Institute’s campus is historically protected.

Charlottesville City Schools are seeking to ascertain the timeline for the next steps with the Department of Education. After the property is conveyed, there will be terms in the deed that include federal oversight into how the property is used.

“We monitor compliance through a variety of ways,” Shawyer said. “One requirement is the submission of periodic utilization reports, which will be due on or before the deed date every year unless the Department changes that requirement in writing.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is putting pressure on the University of Virginia to prove that it truly has ended policies on “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” For more on that, take a look at Kate Andrews’ summary on Virginia Business. If I have time I’m hoping to go over the same primary sources for a story.

Before you go: This story was originally posted in the May 1, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. For more information on Town Crier Productions, please visit this section of the website.