UVA responds to federal government’s withdrawal of offer of surplus property to Charlottesville City Schools

Four months ago, nothing on the website of the Federal Executive Institute indicated the agency would suddenly cease to exist.

“We believe great leaders can transform and improve government to best serve the American people,” reads the Internet Archive’s screenshot of the FEI website from January 13, 2025. “With more than 50 years of experience in leadership development, our curriculum challenges individuals to cultivate the skills, attitudes, and behaviors critical to dynamic and transformational public-sector leadership.”

On February 10, 2025, President Donald J. Trump ended the organization with an executive order.

“Eliminating the Federal Executive Institute is part of President Trump’s broader mission to reform the federal bureaucracy, including by ending ineffective government programs that drain resources and empower government without achieving measurable results,” reads a portion of the executive order.

The agency was shuttered by February 28 and its building and lands were determined to be surplus property to be disposed of by U.S. Department of Education. Both Charlottesville City School and the University of Virginia put in applications to receive the property at little to no cost.

WINA reports that the Community Christian Academy also put in an application.

On April 29, Barbara L. Shawyer of the Federal Real Property Assistance Program sent a letter to the superintendent of Charlottesville City Council.

“The U.S. Department of Education (Department) has contingently approved the application for Charlottesville City Schools (CCS) to centralize the Preschool (PreK) program and administrative offices,” Shawyer wrote.

One sign of trouble: The first letter is addressed to Dr. Royal A. Burley Jr, and not Dr. Royal A. Gurley Jr.

Shawyer’s second letter on May 9 did have the correct spelling but also contained bad news for a school system that had celebrated a victory in the sudden acquisition of government land. Shawyer wrote that her office had been affected by process changes in the new administration.

“Upon further review of the applications submitted by CCS and the University of Virginia (UVA) for the FEI campus, it has been determined that the Department will recommend to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) an education public benefit conveyance to UVA,” Shawyer wrote.

“This decision was not reached arbitrarily; the Department believes that UVA will meet Presidential Executive Orders and that the University best meets the Secretary’s priorities for property reuse,” Shawyer continued.

Shawyer’s second letter doesn’t make specific reference to any specific executive order, but there are 26 pages of them on the White House website.

Charlottesville City Schools made the second letter available on May 9 and issued a joint statement from Dr. Gurley and City Manager Sam Sanders.

“Our community viewed Charlottesville City Schools’ acquisition of the Federal Executive Institute as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance learning for not only our youngest learners but also our most vulnerable students,” they said. “The rescinding of this opportunity is an enormous setback to our City and to our students.”

In a statement, officials with the University of Virginia expressed surprise at the withdrawal of contingent approval for Charlottesville City Schools.

“Upon receiving the notice late Friday afternoon, we reached out to the U.S. Department of Education seeking to clarify the reasons for the unexpected change and to better understand the process to date and the process moving forward,” reads the statement.

UVA had made a separate application which did not provide much detail on how the space would be used. Deputy Spokeperson Bethanie Glover said UVA would use the property to expand the UVA School of Continuing and Professional Studies as well as the ROTC program.

“In addition to responding to the GSA’s request for a proposal, UVA submitted a letter in support of the City’s proposal,” the statement continued. “Once we heard that the federal government had accepted the City’s proposal, we congratulated the City and moved on, fully expecting that the matter was closed.”

The FEI was created out of a spirit that the government can work to help communities. Less than three months later, the policies of a new president have pitted members of this community against each other.

There are calls for a protest at the former Federal Executive Institute this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. but materials for the action do not identify any specific group behind the effort that has fliers that shout “UVA Steals From Children.”

In the early days of his tenure, UVA President Jim Ryan formed something called the President’s Council on Community Partnerships. One of the areas of focus is in early child education and the relevant website has a snapshot of all manner of metrics. These are not public meetings and no decisions are binding.

One future opportunity for cooperation between the city and UVA is the redevelopment of Oak Lawn in Fifeville into a potential child care center. UVA purchased the 5.5 acre property next to Buford Middle School in October 2023 for $3.5 million. The project will require a rezoning due to its location in Charlottesville.

The Three Party Agreement adopted in 1986 is between Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia and governs land use decisions in the area. Oak Lawn is within Area C which means it must comply with city rules. That’s not the case with places within Area A and Area B. (read the document)

The Federal Executive Institute is in Area B.

“Area B includes land which lies at the boundaries of or between the University and either the City of the County and on which the activities of any or all three of the parties might have an affect,” reads the Three Party Agreement. “The City, County, and University will work with each other to try to develop a master plan.”

Until late 2019, this work was overseen by a public body known as the Planning and Coordination Council that consisted of two City Councilors, two members of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, and top officials at UVA. Both elected bodies agreed to dissolve the entity in favor of a closed-door body known as the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee.

Members of the public are not allowed to attend and minutes are rudimentary.

The future of the Federal Executive Institute is also not contemplated in UVA’s last master plan, a document adopted in 2023 known as the Grounds Framework Plan.

I conclude this story with a reporter’s note. I would like to ask someone at the Federal Executive Institute the following question:

What is the best practice for regional government and information sharing in a state where cities, counties, and state institutions of higher learning are totally independent of each other?

Anyone who would like to answer is hereby invited to do so for future stories.

Before you go: This story originally appeared in the May 13, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. If you’d like to help ensure stories like this continue to exist, take a look at the top of this website for the guide of how you can support the work.