Community members filled the auditorium building at Hopkinsville Community College Tuesday night to hear from the Christian County Public School System about what the plan for the future is concerning the two high schools.
Hopkinsville High School and Christian County High School are both in need when it comes to facility infrastructure, but according to the District Facility Plan, HHS has the most need, having been built in 1962. Superintendent Mary Ann Gemmill says that after much discussion over several years—often including conversation about one mega-high school or two separate constructions—the board intends to leave the existing gymnasiums and build two new academic buildings on the current sites of both high schools.
That comes at a cost however, with Ron Murrell of RossTarrant Architects saying that constructing just one building could have a price tag of around $42 million.
CCPS Director of Business Jessica Darnell says that right now, the school district only has a bonding capacity of $15.7 million and only a portion of state funding, or SEEK, is designated for construction projects—approximately $4 million. Of that $4 million, according to Darnell, around $3 million of it is used for accrued debt payments.
Comparing bonding to taking out a loan to purchase a house, Darnell says that if the board approved raising the property tax rate by five cents it could increase the district’s bonding potential to $54.7 million.
As for a timeline, Chief Operations Officer Brad Hawkins says they don’t have a targeted date for construction to begin just yet, but it could be around two years before they break ground.
Both high school principals spoke briefly, thanking the community for the interest and concern and saying that the students deserve schools they can learn in and be proud of.
A design team was introduced at the meeting, which is composed of the high school principals, along with teachers and students from both schools. They’ll be charged with giving input on designs and giving a voice for the community.
Hear the entire forum below:
https://soundcloud.com/user-350001776/ccps-high-school-facilities-forum