Beshear is coming to Hopkinsville to present school grant money

The $10 million grant, from a state program earmarked for vocational school facilities, will go toward construction of the district's consolidated high school.

Gov. Andy Beshear will be in Hopkinsville on Wednesday to present a $10 million grant check to Christian County Public Schools for the district’s new consolidated high school. 

The presentation is set for 12:45 p.m. in the school board meeting room at the central office on Glass Avenue, according to a news release from Superintendent Chris Bentzel’s office. 

The grant, awarded through the state’s School Facilities Construction Commission, was announced in late August and came from a pool of $75 million that the General Assembly earmarked for vocational facilities.

On Aug. 19, the local school board voted to build a consolidated high school, combining Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools and the district’s vocational programs into one facility. The new school, with a capacity of 2,500 students, is slated to open at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

District officials estimate the school will cost $115 million.

Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.