The Christian County Board of Education is slated to vote Aug. 15 on construction contracts for a new consolidated high school that Superintendent Chris Bentzel believes will cost approximately $134 million — putting the district within its financial means to build the school on the south side of Hopkinsville.
“We feel confident moving forward that we’re going to build a new school for our high school students, one of the best schools in the state,” Bentzel said in a Monday interview.
If the school board approves the contracts, construction of Hopkinsville Christian County Academy on Fort Campbell Boulevard at Lovers Lane could begin in September and be completed in slightly less than three years. It will combine Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools and Gateway Academy with a capacity for 2,500 students.
If the project goes according to the schedule district officials are proposing, it would open in August 2026. Students who start high school as freshman this year would be the first class of seniors graduating from Hopkinsville Christian County Academy in 2027.
The construction bids — which the district opened on Monday, July 24, and outlined for school board members in a retreat meeting Tuesday, Aug. 1, at Pennyrile Forest Lodge — are the result of a revised building and construction plan.
A new approach
Initially the school board voted to seek construction bids from a general contractor. Two companies responded in July 2022 with bids of $199 million and $204 million, which the district couldn’t afford. The 2022 construction bids, along with other costs, would have pushed the entire package to around $240 million — nearly double CCPS’s initial $115 million estimate.
In November, the district shifted its approach and hired a construction manager, Alliance Corp. in Glasgow, to oversee the project. Alliance broke the project down into 29 bid packages.
When the responses were opened on Monday, the combined total of the lowest bid for each project was approximately $109 million. The total includes the main building, access road and parking lots. Benztel said that number could increase to $112 million, which he called a “worst case scenario, after officials nail down some questions with a handful of companies that submitted bids.
The $109 million price tag, plus architectural and engineering costs, a state-mandated contingency fee, bonding agent’s fee, the construction manager fee and the cost of furnishings and technology, puts the total estimate at $134 million, according to figures Bentzel provided in Monday’s interview.
The district will use $45 million in savings and grant money and $85 million on bond money. That leaves the district about $4 million short of the total — but Bentzel said the district will make up the difference by other means, including interested earned on the bond money.
“We feel confident we can get to $134 million,” Bentzel said.
The bond sale is scheduled on Aug. 24.
The 335,000-square-foot school will have two gymnasiums — a smaller gym for classes and practice, and the main gym, which will seat 3,200 people.
Bentzel said the first phase of the construction plan does not include a performing arts center and athletic fields. Those will come in a second phase, or they could be included in the initial phase if the district has enough money left in its contingency fund. The state Department of Education requires districts to set aside contingency funds for large projects to cover unexpected expenses.
School board attorney Jack Lackey and Bentzel agreed that using a construction manager approach rather than a general contractor was the difference between the first bids a year ago and the bids secured this summer.
There was more competition among sub-contractors with at least three dozen involved in the second bidding process. One of the 29 construction jobs — for general trades, which refers to finish work such as hanging doors — did not receive a bid. Bentzel said the construction manager has agreed to do that work for the estimate of $7.5 million.
Making adjustments
Also resulting in savings, said Bentzel, the district revised the plan and took out elements that were considered less essential. This reduced the square footage by approximately 50,000 feet, they said.
“We went through every single part of this building — roof, tile, bathroom fixtures, walls … everything,” Bentzel said.
He said they looked at “what’s still a good building and what doesn’t change the appearance of that building, and what’s still economical and good for kids. But what can we get rid of and not have to spend the extra dollar.”
It is possible that the district will consolidate Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools at their separate facilities prior to the new campus opening, but Bentzel said that decision and a timeline are pending.
Editor’s Note: News outlets, including Hoptown Chronicle, who attended a media briefing Monday with Superintendent Chris Bentzel and attorney Jack Lackey, agreed the information district officials provided was embargoed until after the information was outlined for school board members Tuesday morning. A news embargo means that information is obtained in advance of its release through a story publication or broadcast.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
