Christian County school board members have approved the architect for any construction projects that are a part of the district’s five-year facilities plan. That plan would include the construction of a proposed merged high school.
At a special called workshop Thursday night, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Josh Hunt said after advertising for bids for architect services they received eleven submissions, which the committee narrowed down to six for interviews. He then explained that each committee member scored the architects they interviewed based on eleven different categories.
Hunt said the committee recommended hiring JKS Architects of Hopkinsville and Hafer Associates, of Evansville, Indiana, because they had the highest score.
In addition, he said the architects’ presentation included keeping the community informed with visuals as well as engaging the community in the process.
Hunt also said the recommended architects were the only ones to give the committee a detailed timeline.
The board also unanimously approved the District Facilities Plan Hearing Officer’s Report. The facility plan is required by the Kentucky Department of Education every four years based on a school district’s needs.
The school board had a public hearing Tuesday to get public input on the facilities plan. The only two people in attendance were Pete Galloway, a facilitator with the Kentucky School Plant Managers Association, and Josh Hunt. The school district is required by law to advertise the time and date of the public hearing, which appeared in the May 12th edition of the Kentucky New Era. It’s not known if any other notifications were sent to local media.
Hunt told board members that at the public hearing Gallaway read the proposed new District Facility Plan (DFP) which includes in Priority 1 the construction of a new consolidated high school and a new career/technical education academy.
Six of the eight elementary schools were listed in Priority II along with their proposed renovations and construction projects needed. Hopkinsville Middle School was listed with several renovation projects and additional classrooms.
Priority IV includes the construction of a new bus garage, a new central maintenance facility, and major renovations to the Central Office, and Priority V includes the need to purchase property to build the new consolidated high school and the career/technical academy.
The total “unmet need” for the Christian County School District is $138,601,287.
Now that the board has approved the Officer’s Report, it and the minutes of the meeting will be sent to the Kentucky Department of Education for approval. KDE is scheduled to meet in August.
