Hendersonville High construction timeline: Projected completion dates by area
Construction of the new Hendersonville High School is nearly a year ahead of the original schedule, with a target completion date now in August 2022.
The Henderson County School Board was given news that the project was 11 months ahead of schedule during a construction update Monday.
Chief Administrative Officer Carl Taylor attributed the sped-up process to students being off campus during months of remote learning, as well as decent weather conditions.
The updated timeline for HHS shows the following completion targets:
May 22, 2021 – gyms (for graduation only)
Aug. 13 – new building (3.5 months ahead of original schedule)
The Henderson County School Board was given an overview Wednesday of the local preliminary 2021-22 fiscal year budget, which includes a focus on sprucing up school auditoriums and replacing musical instruments.
Superintendent John Bryant and Chief Finance Officer Bernie Sochia gave a presentation to the board on a preliminary budget plan.
HCPS is requesting $31.4 million in local funding for its operating budget, which includes $1.5 million in capital outlay funding, part of which will be used on the auditoriums and to buy musical instruments.
Those line items are:
$160,000 to replace auditorium seating at Apple Valley Middle
$130,000 each to replace the sound and lighting systems in the auditoriums at West Henderson and East Henderson high schools
This planned transition follows Wednesday’s announcement of the NC General Assembly’s compromise legislation to reopen schools in North Carolina. Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday, March 11, this legislation allows Grades 6-12 to operate under either Plan A or Plan B.
“Our teachers and staff have worked tirelessly to keep our students connected and engaged throughout Plans C and B, and are thrilled at the opportunity to deepen these relationships in-person in this final stretch of the school year, Superintendent John Bryant said.
On Monday during the regular monthly school board meeting, board members signaled their intent to schedule a special called meeting to consider transitioning all schools to Plan A as soon as was allowable.
Henderson County 4th-, 5th-graders return to in-person learning Feb. 18
Henderson County Public Schools fourth- and fifth-graders will return to school in-person full-time, known as Plan A, on Feb. 18.
Pre-K through third-grade students returned full-time Feb. 1 and will continue attending school on Plan A while grades 6-12 continue to attend remotely part-time, known as Plan B.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and Gov. Roy Cooper s Office will only permit Plan B for grades 6-12, HCPS Superintendent John Bryant said.
The Henderson County School Board followed the recommendation Bryant gave during a meeting Monday, except for the return date for fourth- and fifth-graders. Bryant recommended Feb. 22 and Chairman Blair Craven made a motion for students to return on Feb. 18.
Architect Chad Roberson of the ClarkNexsen firm said his team had come up a three-pronged approach for stablization and then phase 2 and phase 3 to make a complete renovation of the entire structure at Five Points between Pop s Diner and Edwards Park.
The phase 1 stabilization would replace the front entrance,make the rear entrance handicap accessible, replace windows and doors, replace the roof and stabilize a slope in the back.
The Hedrick-Rhodes post, which has suffered financial problems and a decline in membership, approached the city of Hendersonville and later Henderson County about buying the building. County Manager Steve Wyatt and Commissioner Michael Edney proposed a renovation of the 10,000-square-foot building to serve veterans. The county Veterans Service office could move there and the building would still be available for VFW events such as meetings, dances and other social gatherings.