At Thursday’s Christian County School Board meeting, construction updates and facility enhancements dominated the agenda, with Interim Assistant Superintendent Jason Wilson detailing progress on multiple active and upcoming projects.

Wilson began with an overview of the new Christian County High School, where visible construction progress is steadily unfolding. “All of the windows have gone in,” said Wilson, noting the work has advanced from the Ag Academy around the building. He added that the building’s brick veneer is largely complete, starting at the storm shelter and auxiliary gym and progressing around the exterior toward the Freshman Academy.

The majority of the high school is now under roof, Wilson reported, including critical areas like the Ag and Skilled Trades wings, the commons, the kitchen, Engineering, Manufacturing and Business sections, the Freshman Academy, the auxiliary gym, and the front office.

“[They] are labeled green which means finishes,” Wilson explained. “That means flooring, drywall, paint, tile.”

Other areas are still catching up, such as the main gym and the Academy for Health and Human Services, where roofing is currently being installed. The arts wing, referred to as Area A, is also advancing. “Then you have area A which is the band, choir, art area, they are still finishing block in that area, but that will go pretty quickly once they finish inside the gym,” Wilson said.

Work on the gym itself is set to ramp up as well. “The concrete will be poured in the gym this month and once that is done, the contractors will start closing up area A,” he said. Only a small opening—“a 16 ft-by-16 ft square so they get equipment in and out”—remains to be closed off, he noted.

Progress is also evident outside the building. “The majority of the parking lots have asphalt on them,” Wilson said, listing the main lot extending to Lovers Lane, the equipment courtyard, and staff parking areas. Student and visitor parking areas are currently being prepped for paving.

Beyond the high school, Wilson requested board approval for two BG-1 forms to initiate additional construction work—one at Millbrooke Elementary and another at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early Learning Center.

“This is a project that has been in the works for a while,” Wilson said of the Millbrooke Elementary upgrade. The stage area in the school will be converted into a music space, supported by a grant covering most of the approximately $50,000 cost. “We did receive a grant for the majority of these funds, but in order for us to track those funds and extend that out and do the things we need to do, we need to create a BG-1 for that,” he explained.

At the Early Learning Center, the district plans to expand capacity significantly—an effort made possible by a $400,000 donation from Jennie Stuart Health. “I believe it ends up creating around 11 classrooms,” said Wilson. “We would be expanding it to hold almost another 250 students in that building, depending on ages and depending on calculations.”

Much of the building’s top hallway was renovated last summer for preschool use, and the new funds will help complete renovations along the center and back hallways. “Talking to Trevor [Herndon, facilities coordinator] our best course of action is to get to the double doors first, finish that and then see where we are at,” Wilson said.

A major hurdle in the Early Learning Center’s renovation is the need to install in-classroom bathrooms, which requires accessing underground sewer lines. “If we start cutting concrete we don’t have any choice to finish,” Wilson said.

Still, there’s strong demand for the expanded space. “The Early Learning Center has a waiting list for students,” Wilson assured, adding that some of the additional capacity will be reserved for children of Jennie Stuart Health employees.

The board unanimously approved the BG-1 requests for both projects.

In other business, the board:

• Recognized the winners of the commemorative t-shirt contest from Christian County, Hopkinsville, and Gateway Academy high schools.
• Approved four construction-related change orders totaling a net cost of $13,985.90, and an invoice payment of $360,238.78 to Hafer Architects.
• Gave Wilson permission to advertise for general physical exam bids for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, and paint bids for the Early Learning Center.
• Heard an update from Assistant Superintendent Kevin Crider and Project Graduation coordinators Priscilla Kirby and Whitney Aldridge on the 2025 event.
• Approved the District Facilities Plan hearing officer’s report, noting that no members of the public attended the hearing.

The next Christian County Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, at the central office.

Originally reported by Jodi Camp in The Eagle Post.