School board approves staffing formula, discuss the new school’s construction progress

The Christian County School Board approved the 2026-27 draft staffing formula and discussed the construction progress of the consolidated Christian County High School at Thursday’s meeting.

To start the meeting, multiple students were recognized for participating in Martin Luther King Jr. art contests. Christian County High School Art Teacher Paula Gieseke announced the winners of the Kentucky Heritage Foundation’s MLK Jr. Art Competition, and she says CCHS students swept all of the awards.

Baylee Terwilliger won first-place, Marley Welker won second-place and Marlee Henderson won third-place. The winners of the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission’s MLK Jr. Art Contest were also spotlighted. Those winners were announced at the commission’s MLK Day Celebration in January.

Turning toward the consolidated CCHS, construction continues on schedule and within budget according to Tim Geegan will Alliance Corporation. At the board’s next meeting on March 5, Geegan says he plans to present some bids for the construction of athletic fields. Christian County Public Schools Superintendent Chris Bentzel says the construction is coming down to the wire, but he has no doubt that the school will be ready to welcome students for the first day of the 2026-27 school year on August 19.

Board members approved an updated staffing formula to include the academy structure that will be at the consolidated CCHS. Personnel Director Leslie Lancaster says the expected student-to-teacher ratio for seventh through twelfth-grade core classes will remain 31:1. In the future, that ratio might be reduced to 28:1 or 25:1 to better represent the student-to-teacher distribution in current core classes.

Then, to conclude the meeting, board members approved the purchase of 474 Chromebook laptops for $150,258.

The winners of the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission’s MLK Jr. Art Contest

The winners of the Kentucky Heritage Foundation’s MLK Jr. Art Competition