Saxman lauds start of VSDB renovation

STAUNTON — The workers in hard hats and the construction area full of equipment were a welcome development Tuesday for Del. Chris Saxman and alumni of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.

After years of study and fears that the Staunton school for the blind, deaf and multi-handicapped would be closed and relocated, the start of a $65 million renovation and expansion has begun.

“We are witnessing the rehabilitation of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind for all of Virginia,” said Saxman, standing in front of construction on a new maintenance facility at VSDB.

The delegate said the new VSDB will be “a first-class facility,” with new buildings and refurbished older ones.

The facility’s history dates back to the 1830s, and students were once moved out to make way for a Civil War hospital.

Saxman noted the two dozen studies about the fate of VSDB over the years, and the efforts to keep the facility in Staunton.

VSDB will now serve a consolidated population that once was split between the Shenandoah Valley and Hampton Roads.

The consolidation and expansion in Staunton “will save tax money,” Saxman said. He estimates the total project could take four to seven years and will boost the economy with construction jobs.

“A lot will depend on the economy and the private partnerships,” the delegate said.

Donna Wait, a dorm counselor at VSDB, said she and other staff are excited about the improvements coming to the Staunton campus.

“It’s a new era for here and for all of the deaf people in Virginia,” she said. “I like seeing it.”

Wait was among a number of former teachers and administrators from VSDB who joined Saxman on Tuesday morning.

Saxman said VSDB’s presence in the Stauntom community goes beyond its education.

He said the consolidated is creating jobs with additional staff, and the campus has served as the site for basketball tournaments and AYSO soccer tournaments.