What's next for Fox Elementary

A timeline for rebuilding Richmond's Fox Elementary is coming together nearly a year after the building burned down in a catastrophic fire.

What's happening: School officials released preliminary plans for the building and outlined a nearly two-year design and construction schedule in meetings this month.

• If there are no delays, work would be complete by fall of 2024 at the earliest.

Why it matters: The fire displaced hundreds of school children. Questions have since arisen about whether the perpetually cash-strapped school district's insurance policy would cover the full cost of a rebuild.

• Late last year, sources told WTVR that there was a potential $10 million shortfall.

What they're saying: Negotiations with the insurance company are ongoing, Dana Fox, the district's chief operating officer, tells Axios.

• "Hoping to reach a final agreement soon," she wrote in an email.
• She said the district is still reviewing its cost estimates and declined to share a figure for the project.

Worth noting: Fox said she does not anticipate any delays in construction as a result of negotiations.

Catch up fast: Fox Elementary caught fire last February.

• Authorities classified the blaze as accidental, but a cause was never determined.
• Firefighters searched the building the night of the fire after a neighbor reported the fire alarm was going off, but said they found nothing out of the ordinary.
• Less than half an hour later, the building was engulfed in flames.

What's next: The district expects to finalize design work by April.

• Construction is expected to take 16 months once plans are approved by the city’s planning commission.