Community members concerned about the cost to build a consolidated high school will get their next chance to hear what local officials are considering at a Christian County Board of Education meeting Thursday night.
The bids to construct Hopkinsville Christian County Academy — one for roughly $204 million from D.W. Wilburn Inc. in Lexington, and one for nearly $199 million from A&K Construction in Paducah — came in significantly higher than the district’s projection of $115 million.
Board chairman Tom Bell and fellow member Mike Walker shared their perspectives on the project in interviews Monday with Hoptown Chronicle.
Walker said he was not in favor of the consolidated school when it was first presented, but he supported it once he and board member Lindsey Clark were out-voted on the project last summer. Bell, Tiffany Mumford Brame and Jeff Moore voted in favor of combining Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools, and the district’s vocational programs, into one school.
“I wasn’t for this when it started, but when the board decided to vote for it, I had to support it,” Walker said. “I wasn’t going to be disgruntled because I didn’t get my way.”
Bell said he still believes in the consolidated academy but is cognizant that the bids are too steep.
“My main thing is the equity piece,” Bell said of the need for an up-to-date facility.
“We’re not providing equitable services (at the two high schools), and we’re not allowing kids to be their best selves at this level.”
Bell believes the community should pool its resources into one high school versus trying to duplicate opportunities at two separate facilities.
Walker said, “A building is nice, but what’s important is what they’re learning.” He said he can’t accept a bid that would put the community in a bind financially.
“We were told and told and told that our bid would come in around what our architect said,” Walker described, adding that common sense prevents the school board from spending more than $200 million on a high school.
“I understand that inflation and materials are affecting everything, but he was 100% off on the estimate,” he said.
During the board retreat meeting last week, Jack Faber with Hafer Architects said inflated material costs and site and mechanical work are part of the reason the bids came in higher, according to a report by WHOP. Superintendent Chris Bentzel said during the retreat that it would not be fiscally sound to accept either bid; however, he is committed to consolidating the high schools without raising property taxes.
Jacqueline Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, told Hoptown Chronicle that KDE is aware of the dilemma.
“The issue of the cost of building a school exceeding a school district’s bonding capacity is becoming more prevalent as construction and labor costs have increased significantly in the last several years,” she said.
Rising construction costs are affecting projects across many levels of government. Thompson noted that KDE was presenting information Wednesday to the Kentucky General Assembly’s Capital Planning Advisory Board.
The financial picture
The school board purchased land on Fort Campbell Boulevard at Lovers Lane for the consolidated school last year using $6 million from its general fund. Other major expenses related to plans for the school include approximately $4 million for architectural fees with the Hafer firm in Evansville, Indiana.
The district has $70 million in bonding capacity, plus $32 million in federal COVID relief money for construction. It also received a $10 million grant from the state that will go toward the vocational facility at the new school.
Bell said the school district is applying for “everything out there” as far as grants.
With $112 million available, some community members question if building a new school is the best option.
Bell said he is not in a rush to get the consolidated school built, but it is the top priority for new construction in the District Facility Plan adopted by the Local Planning Committee and approved by the school board and KDE in 2021.
A committee of parents, district representatives and community members is required by the state to develop a facility plan every four years.
Christian County’s committee included four parents, four teachers, several school administrators, community leaders and school board member Clark.
“They met and determined that consolidation was the way to go,” Bell said.
If the board was to change course and put the money into its current high schools, the local facility plan would have to be amended, Thompson told Hoptown Chronicle in an email. The school board and KDE would then have to approve the amended facility plan.
Thomas added that “districts may do renovations of buildings which are over 30 years old if specific conditions are met. Questions about the ability to redirect bond funds are best answered by bond counsel as bond issuances have covenants which determine how the funds are spent.”
Both of the county’s high schools are more than 30 years old.
Thompson said a 2024 deadline still exists for COVID relief money. Recently, though, the U.S. Department of Education provided additional guidance that they may grant extra time for the late liquidation of the relief money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, she said.
Walker said he is concerned about having money available for upkeep of the other schools in the district.
“We haven’t really talked about what to do with the schools we have right now,” he said. “We’ve focused all our efforts on this school.”
Going into Thursday’s meeting, both Walker and Bell said there are a lot of things to discuss.
To the community, Walker said, “Take a deep breath. We have not made any decisions. We have not done anything yet. I know this board, and I know we will do the right thing for the community.”
As for the bids, Bell did not say how he would vote, and Walker said he plans to vote against accepting either one.
“There’s a lot of unknown, and I don’t look for the economy to turn around for the next two or three years,” Walker said. “We can’t accept those bids. I do know that.”
The school board meeting starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at the central office on Glass Avenue. The meeting is also streamed on the district’s YouTube page.
(Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the purchase of a building site for $6 million was the only expenditure to date on the consolidated high school. Other expenses have been incurred, notably approximately $4 million in architectural fees.)
