Gov. Andy Beshear stopped Wednesday in Hopkinsville to tout state funding for the consolidated high school and other local projects — and to take a look at the facility that has been under construction for almost a year at Fort Campbell Boulevard and Lovers Lane.
Beshear asked a group of sophomores from Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools to hold a large photo-op check for $7 million while he spoke about the opportunities he said the school will create for them. The students — along with several dozen school officials, city and county elected officials, business representatives and supporters of the school district — sat in the future cafeteria of the partially constructed school.
“This will be the first of its kind school in Western Kentucky,” said Beshear. “It’ll bring together career and technical education with traditional high school curriculum in one facility for students.”
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Regardless of the path they choose, he said the new Christian County High School will give all students “the opportunity to prepare for their future.”
The $7 million state grant, approved by the Kentucky General Assembly in the most recent state budget, will cover the cost of athletic fields and courts.
The new CCHS is an estimated $132 million project on 87 acres adjacent to the Murray State University regional campus. It will have a capacity for 2,500, replacing the current Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools and incorporating all of the districts career and technical programs.
Tom Bell, chairman of the Christian County Board of Education and a consistent advocate for the consolidated school in the face of opposition from local residents who wanted to maintain two public high schools, said the new school represents a bright future for students.
“It is beautiful to see a vision that is 21st century, state of the art and student focused,” he said, adding that a community and its people suffer without a vision.
“You must see it in your mind before you see it with your natural eye,” said Bell. “… we are about to make this dream a reality.”
The athletic fields covered by the $7 million state grant will include softball, baseball and soccer fields, and tennis courts, he said.
Some of the sophomores at the construction site Wednesday were also at the groundbreaking ceremony almost a year ago. If the project remains on schedule and is completed in May of 2026, they will be in the first class that graduates from the new school in 2027.
Other funding the governor touted during his visit at the school construction site included:
- $400,000 Federal Transit Administration award to Pennyrile Allied Community Services to build a new administration and maintenance facility for public transit that serves a 10-county region surrounding Hopkinsville. It will enhance the bus service and Medicaid transportation that PACS provides from its headquarters along Liberty Street in downtown Hopkinsville.
- Approximately $1.28 million for Pennyrile Electric to expand internet service to 270 homes and businesses in Christian County. The utility matched that amount, creating an estimated $2.55 million investment.
- $38,250 in cybersecurity funds from Kentucky Office of Homeland Security to modernize technology and develop strategies addressing cybersecurity threats. County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam said Christian County Emergency Manager Randy Graham helped identify the need and funding.
- $480,000 for upgrades to the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library. Improvements that recently began will include new restrooms on both floors and installation of a larger elevator to accommodate handicapped patrons.
Most of the funding that Beshear highlighted with the presentation of large checks had previously been announced. Before leaving Hopkinsville, he spoke informally with construction workers who are building the school. Several of the workers took selfie photos with the governor.
Beshear headed from Hopkinsville to Dawson Springs for the dedication of seven houses for tornado victims.
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.
