In a last-minute item added to the conclusion of Tuesday night’s agenda, several members of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors took issue with the school board’s design for a new state-of-the-art building to replace Page Middle School.

At one point during the conversation, the $18 million allocated months ago by supervisors for the new school was threatened with being taken away which, in turn, brought out accusations of dirty politics. No final decision was made.

Abingdon district supervisor Robert "JJ" Orth had requested the discussion be added to the meeting agenda prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting. "I’m very concerned with how we got where we are with the design of this brand-new building," Orth said.

Later, he said, "I kind of feel like the wool has been pulled over our eyes," and noted he was concerned with the costs associated with building the school, which is expected to include glass walls and other amenities that school board members have defended as design aspects necessary to promote a learning environment.

"The school board has not done due diligence to the citizens of this county," Orth said, "and I think we will be asking 50 years from now why we built such a building."

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