Christian County/Hoptown needs 2 High Schools

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice? Shame on me.

The community is watching and we’ve seen this act before. They originally said $115 million, but we’re given bad research by their architect. Then they refused to change course and allowed the bids to come in at over $215 Million. Now??? They claim the original design had $90 million in waste?

They were the ones making these plans. They are the ones in charge. This group has continued to make bad decisions that are costing our student valuable time while they sit in falling apart schools. They are wasting money every day as inflation increases.

They’re either doing this because of their ego or they are too incompetent to face the facts. I do not know which one is worse???

BREAKING!

Insiders from 200 glass avenue have sounded the alarm.

As you see the new plan for HCCA otherwise known as the high school consolidation project is now broke down in phases. Our insiders have told us school officials misled the community during the meeting this past Thursday. Construction experts are estimating that phase1a will cost taxpayers in excess of $150 million dollars!! $20 million more than stated during the meeting.

Students will not be able to attend this school until school year 2026-27! THERE WILL NOT BE A COMPETITION GYM as Josh Hunt claimed!

Phase 1b will have a taxpayer cost of $20 million at the very least!!! Estimated completion date is 2028-29 school year!!! This phase contains the competition gym!

Phase 2 is the co curricular facility’s and athletic complex estimated cost $40 million dollars!!! Completion date estimated 2031!

Phase 3 the preforming arts complex estimated cost $25 million there is no estimated timetable with this project at this time!

BOTTOM LINE THIS SCHOOL WILL STILL COST OVER $200 MILLION DOLLARS!

Why are school leaders purposely misleading the community? Is this what “build it no matter what” means? How many people are “ALL IN” now?

The Superintendent told us that we need to consolidate the high schools because they need to incorporate the Gateway Academy into the schools. He said it needs to be fair to all students. He said that the only way to get this new model implemented was to build one big campus.

Under their new cost cutting measures for the project, the Gateway Academy will still be on North Drive and the Mega School will be on Lovers Lane. So why consolidate the schools if the original purpose was to have Gateway incorporated into the main campus? Does it not seem like they have no reason to consolidate now?

Is the Superintendent doing this for his own ego rather than what is best for students? Would he rather prove his doubters wrong at all costs instead of doing what is best for the students? Every single point he made 2 years ago has not been proven wrong, yet his “yes men” on the board do not hold him accountable.

We need answers. We need a leader and not a coward. We need 2 High Schools!

“New schools are the sign of a growing and thriving community”

That was what we were told by the “economic development” leaders about why we had to consolidate our school. Today they announced they are closing MLK and Indiana Hills elementary schools. They’re going to move HMS to the MLK building and put elementary kids in the current HMS building.

MLK Elementary is the most recent constructed elementary school in the district. They are now taking away the best school building for elementary and we will not be able to construct a new building for 20-30 years if they go through with this Mega School nightmare.

They also announced they are scaling back the Mega School plans, which is in contradiction to their claim that “our students deserve the best so we have to consolidate!”

These plans are due to 1 man being so blinded by his ego to consolidate those schools at all costs that he refuses to see it from any other way. This unpopular division has continued to divide our community and will hurt our kids for the following generations.

Make your voice heard!

We were told that we had to consolidate the schools because our students deserved the best. That all that will be lost in consolidation will be fine because the students will have a state of the art school.

It appears now the powers that be or now going to build a very “bare bones” high school for our kids. They said our kids deserved an A+ model school and it’s looking like they’re going to build a D- model.

They want to max out all the district can spend on a very bland school. They’re going to force consolidation and have a campus without a gym or athletic practice fields. They’re going to close 2 elementary schools, one of which is the newest one in the district, and move them into a 50 year old building. They will not be able to build anything else for another generation.

At first it seemed they actually believed this was the best for students, but now it appears that this is all about their ego of being right. This admin doesn’t seem to learn from mistakes, instead they double down.

I hope the economic development leaders start to realize that this blind decision making by the board will keep people from moving here. These decisions will cause people to move away from Christian County. How can we recruit teachers to this district? How will we keep teachers from going elsewhere?

It is a mess in Christian County!

IT IS CHRISTIAN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL (CCPS) BREAKING NEWS TIME:

CCPS will be revealing the MEGA school update on Tuesday. The update FROM CCPS will be that the MEGA school will come in at their desired budget numbers! How, you may ask?

The new MEGA school was going to be the Super Walmart of schools in CCPS’S original plans. With the budget constraints, CCPS has no choice but to turn the MEGA school into the Dollar General kind of MEGA school.

The walls have been busting at the seems with information. From what we are hearing, the freshmen will not be at the school. Is this why CCPS is being forced to reconvene the LPC (local planning committee)?

Facility changes for the new MEGA school are as follows: There will be no athletic facilities on the school property! Yes, there will be no state of the art massive gym, no swimming pool, no baseball/softball fields, no soccer field and no indoor practice facility. All athletics will be played at HHS.

This project has been stripped down to bare bones! The building WILL be very similar to Heritage Christian Academy. There will be zero fluff and zero extra anything in this school. Definitely no $45,000.00 light fixtures!!!

To top things off even more, this MEGA project will still be $100,000,000.00 project that we will still be paying on for 50 years. CCPS will not be able to build anything else during the first 25 years of the MEGA school repayment time. No new elementary schools for 25 years as well!!!

Looks like we are taking the disadvantages and just moving them to a new location.

All of this and the Cherry on top is CCPS WILL be closing Indian Hills Elementary School.

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The Emperor has no clothes.

This was released on a Friday afternoon, a time bad news gets dumped that they try to hide. Why was this not announced at the board meeting last night?

They don’t have a plan. Moving middles schools. Closing another elementary school. An unpopular high school plan they cannot afford.

We see that once again, the local business leaders have picked out who they want to make decisions about our schools.

Should decisions be made by wealthy people in closed rooms or should the citizens be able to be apart of the conversation?

Profits for a few are being put ahead of the education of all students. Until parents and voters wake up and vote, this will continue to happen to our schools.

Yesterday we asked about local business interests having too much of a say in our schools. Well it seems like they answered our question at the meeting.

A $1.6 million daycare is going to be built during a time where they’re trying to build a school that is $200 million over budget.

They aren’t addressing the issues in our schools. No plan on bad behavior that’s running off teachers left and right. No plan to address the teacher shortage. No plan to address low test scores and students not being prepared for college. No plan on paying for this and the MEGA School.

They’re running out of excuses. They’re selling our kids’ future away to big business interests. They have no plans and they are scrambling to just get by day to day.

We will end with a quote from someone in the district that has been at the highest levels. “I thought it was bad a few years ago, but I’d rather work under Link and Watson than the chaos created by this admin.”

Christian County Public Schools has announced the inception of the Inspire Early Learning Academy. The center will provide high-quality childcare for employees of Christian County Schools as well as industry partners in the area. The center will be located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary school. The Inspire Early Learning Academy is a partnership with the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council to help ease the burden of finding childcare in the area. Businesses from the industrial park have pledged close to $80,000 to fund the start-up costs associated with opening the center.

“We have heard from employees as well as industry leaders who tell us that finding high-quality childcare is challenging,” said CCPS Superintendent Chris Bentzel. “We know that almost all of the established childcare facilities are at capacity with waiting lists. There is a great need in the community to provide our workforce with high-quality childcare and we are working through various partnerships to provide that to our community. This will also ensure our youngest children are getting solid foundations which will benefit them as they become school-aged children entering our classrooms.”

Initially, the center will open with space for approximately 120 two, three, and four-year-olds, with plans to expand as the center grows. The center will be a fully licensed childcare facility with generous operating hours to help accommodate various working families’ schedules. The registration process will be established in the coming months and will be communicated prior to the application window opening. The center will plan to open in the fall of 2023.

“Establishing the early learning center partnership with CCPS is an exciting opportunity for our workforce and all of Christian County,” said SWKEDC Executive Director, Carter Hendricks. “Parents can go to work, knowing their most precious treasures are receiving the highest quality of care. It’s a win for the workforce, Christian County Schools and for parents.”

Should local business interests be influencing our schools?

For way too many years, many people feel that the people connected to the Chamber of Commerce have to much of a say in the direction of our school system. It seems convenient that the major decisions of the board are always in lockstep with the opinions of our local business leaders. Doesn’t it seem strange that so many major decisions get made by the board get made in such a short time frame? Doesn’t it seem like the plans have been developed for years by others and just handed to the board?

Since the 1980’s, there’s been a dangerous Union between big business and governmental institutions. The free market and our government were meant to operate separately. In our opinion, these local planners have tried to push consolidation for years to advance their own business interests. This academy model they want is all about being able to sell factories on having a trained workforce right out of high school. They do not care if your child is capable of reading or basic math skills, they just want to sell workforce training for international corporations to come in and get cheap labor at a low rate.

These business leaders had their talking points about how the MEGA SCHOOL will be best. They tried to say how the sign of a growing community is seeing new schools being constructed. Consider this fact, 10 years ago we had 10 Elementary Schools and 3 Middle Schools. Today we have 2 Middle Schools and 8 Elementary Schools. If the new plans fall into place, we’ll be down to 7 Elementary Schools, 1 high school, and 2 middle schools that will now have 6th graders again. Is that the sign of a growing community?

Say NO to the MEGA SCHOOL!

Dan Mason is running against Board Chairman Tom Bell today. Tom Bell board chair that said that it wasn’t his job to listen to voters and he had to do what it right. It’s time to tell him that the voters are his boss.

He’s tried to hide from his vote and many were not aware of the issues. There’s only one candidate to end this Mega School Mess!

Say no to the MEGASCHOOL and you can do so by voting Dan Mason in and send Mr. Bell packing. Please call and text everyone you know that can vote to vote for Dan Mason.

VOTE DAN MASON FOR SCHOOL BOARD.

We never wanted to get political and advocate for certain candidates. But the stakes are too high in 2022.

A vote for Dan Mason means we can stop the consolidation. It means no more having a 3 vote “rubber stamp” for the Superintendent. It means the community’s voice will be heard rather being influence by the elite that send their own kids to private school.

He’s running against Board Chair Tom Bell. We do believe Chairman Bell is a good man, but we do believe his votes have been detrimental to our children’s future.

Tom Bell said during the consolidation vote that it’s their job to do what they think is best and not what voters think. It’s time to show Tom Bell that the voters have a voice and he represents the voters

Say NO to the Mega SCHOOL and VOTE for Dan Mason!

I hope you'll join me with your vote on November 8th.
Be sure to Like and Share to help get the word out.🇺🇸

Look at the history of consolidation and you will find neighborhoods abandoned as the city moves for greener pastures. Go look at the areas where a school has closed and tell me that you do not see decay.

West Side school closes and that neighborhood is gone. Attucks closes and look at everything around that area. Look at Walnut Street after Hoptown High closed down. Holiday Park & Morningside have seen the same trend downward.

Crofton, Pembroke, Herndon, Lafayette, and Lacey all had nice little communities until they moved everything into town and those areas slowly faded away as all the resources went into the city.

People want to live near schools. Businesses open near those areas. The areas are safer. Families want to be in that area. Kids and families grow up together and go through school together in those areas. Kids walk to school. Kids play in the park and ride bikes down those streets. When you close a school in a small community or neighborhood, the investment stops.

This article and others hint at it being the “right decision” to consolidate the County Schools in the late 50’s. It was said consolidating would get all the resources in one area and lead to better education and a better school. Today Christian County and Hopkinsville High School are 2 of the lowest achieving schools in the state. The teacher pay is much lower than average. The buildings are in disrepair. The college graduates that come from the district are choosing to move elsewhere in large numbers.

Consolidation didnt help us consolidate resources in a more efficient manner. Academic achievement is awful. The buildings are in disrepair. We aren’t paying teachers what they deserve. The neighborhoods and communities where we closed the schools have decayed.

The results are clear. Say NO to Consolidation!

High school consolidation in 1959 marked a major change for Christian County students On Sept. 9, 1959, students from five rural high schools — Pembroke, Crofton, Lacy, Sinking Fork and South Christian — transferred into the new Christian County High School.

WE ARE AGAINST THE CONSOLIDATION OF HOPKINSVILLE AND CHRISTIAN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL!

Please share this post if you agree and want to let the higher ups know your opinion!

Why are they consolidating the schools next year without any clear path for a new school building?

They’re going to put the Freshman and Sophomores at the current Christian County High and the Juniors and Seniors at the current Hopkinsville High. Now they wanted to do this when they thought they’d have a new building soon, yet theyre nowhere near close. What’s their reasoning for this right now?

They say they want them to get used to it, but to most it seems like a logistical nightmare. How can a Principal oversee two campuses? If they don’t have the building, then how can they do this academy concept? Where will the sports teams practice? Will you have to bus the players from one campus to another just to have practice? What if a Freshman wants to take a junior level class not offered at the lower school?

They know they cannot afford this school and continue to push forward. They are wasting time. They are hurting our students and their futures. They cannot admit they made a mistake and make everyone suffer due to their egos. It’s time for a change come election time.

Say NO to the Mega School!

This email was released and posted in the Citizens Against Consolidation group. We would like to (again) clarify our position as to why we remain anonymous.

We as educators rely on employment from the CCPS. We also have family and friends who work in the district. There is a pressure from within the district to support this consolidation. We as admins fear retaliation for speaking out against this project.

Last summer when this page was gaining steam, we were told by many that people at the Board Office in higher positions were trying very hard to find out our identity. What reason would they have to worry about our identity?

If that was not enough, the spouse of a former mayor messaged this page last summer. The spouse was very interested in knowing the identity of who is behind this page. Again, why is our identity important? They weren’t concerned about disagreeing or telling us to stop, they wanted to know our names.

We feel like if our identities are revealed, then retribution will be coming for us and our families. We aren’t connected to the other pages mad about local government in our area. We simply are a page dedicated to speaking the truth about the consolidation of the two High Schools.

We want to speak our minds and bring truth to power. We want to be able to type an opinion without fear of being fired. If you are more worried about us being anonymous rather than the points we bring up, then you do not care about our children.

Say NO to the Mega School!

Imagine the Titanic in the modern day.

Imagine many of the passengers use their phones and find data telling the captain there’s an iceberg ahead and that they need to change course. The Captain ignores those complaints and says thoss passengers are just being negative and want to ruin the trip. The Captain won’t change course. Then they get close and can actually see the iceberg, but the Captain says they don’t need to change course and they’ll find a way to navigate away.

That’s what is happening with the Mega School in our County. The leaders were warned and refused to consider the views of anyone that disagreed. Any dissent was just brushed off as troublemakers being negative. But now that the bids are in and the “troublemakers” have been proven correct, the Board of Education refuses to change course.

The current leadership thought they could build a school for $120 million, but the price tag is $230 million. They’re now doubling down and thinking they can get he bids lower. Even if they get the bids lowered by let’s say $50 million, the price tag would still be $180 million and still at a price we cannot afford.

They are wasting time pushing a plan that is IMPOSSIBLE! The current buildings are falling apart. Our kids are in those buildings and there’s no plan for their future. The Board of Education and their administrators would rather go down with a sinking ship of a plan than admit they’re wrong. They pushed a school with no data to back their choices. They’re pushing a construction project with numbers they cannot afford. These are not negative opinions, they are facts.

Say NO to the MEGA SCHOOL!

Where is the accountability?

Last year many residents brought up some legitimate points about the feasability of consolidation. Those people were branded as trouble makers and were immediately discredited. But their points were correct.

The process to consolidate the schools was rushed. It was an act now and plan later type of policy. They just said “let’s do this and figure it out as we go” rather than make any strong effort to plan ahead and make a decision with actual research.

We were told that the consolidation and academy model was the best for education, but most all available studies said the opposite. They kept giving numbers and figures about costs, yet we never got to see any of details behind those numbers. When confronted with a criticism, they just called it a “misconception” and gave no real arguments as to why the criticism was wrong.

It’s time to face the facts that the leadership of this district has failed our students once again. They’ve pushed ahead with a plan that had no research behind their conclusions. They’ve cost the taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars with their mistakes. They’ve cost your students the ability to be in safe schools due to their negligence.

If this were being graded like a research project, the CCBOE would’ve received a F. But this isn’t some project for a class, this involved millions of dollars and the future of our community.

Say NO to the MEGA SCHOOL!!!!

CCPS Mega School Cost increases?

It started at $90 Million
Then they said $115 Million
Then it changed to $130 Million
Now the cost is at $218 Million!!

How much will it cost tomorrow?

Here are some facts!

1. The district is limited in their borrowing due to bonding capacity. That bond Capacity maxes out the project at around $120 million. They do not have the money to pay for this school unless they raise taxes substantially.

2. If they spend all of the money and max out the bonding capacity, then they cannot use that money to build another school for another 20-30 years. That means there will not be any major renovations to all of the other Elementary and Middle Schools for an entire generation.

Say NO to the MEGA School!

A step by step process of the Christian County Board of Education’s shifting narrative on the need for a consolidated high school.

1. In early 2019 after the HHS building was shown on the Nashville news to be in poor condition, the school board voted for a Nickel Tax for facilities. They did this with no plans or research. (At least none revealed publicly) A group of citizens pushed back and got enough signatures to get the Nickel Tax put on the ballot for voters to decide. Again, the opposition was about the tax coming without an actual facilities plan.

2. The Board claimed that they did not have the binding capacity to build a new school. They said this tax would give them the money to build a new HHS and then new CCHS 10 years later. The people against the tax were fearful that the tax signaled consolidation.

3. The tax was soundly defeated. A new Superintendent took the job in 2020. The district received $30 million in COVID money which gave them the money needed during the Nickel Tax campaign as the bond capacity increased. In the fall of 2020, they began researching and planning what to do with the facilities.

4. New school board members took office in January 2021. The board then presented their recommendation to consolidate the schools. There is fierce opposition to this plan. They claim its about money since the nickel tax did not pass, yet they have now have the money they needed when they asked for the Nickel Tax.

5. The vote is pushed in a short window in August 2021. Less than a year of research and only 2 months public discussion. The board claims it’s only going to cost around $100 million or so, even though many wondered where the cost numbers were coming from at the time. Many pointed to inflation and supply chain issues as to why this would be an awful time to build new.

6. It passed in a very contentious 3 to 2 vote. The board chair said something to the effect of that it’s not their job to listen to voters or parents after the vote. They said it was time to come together and bring the community together. But after doing that, they held a contest where they picked a name HCCA Wolfpack that was not the most popular choice and many around the state called it a joke.

7. They bought a very expensive piece of land by the rock quarry, which this land was not their first choice and they rushed the decision. Many questioned the location due to traffic and blasts from the rock quarry. Around that time a number of $115 Million began to be floated around the community.

8. The estimated number seemed to keep getting higher. Many were hearing $130-$150 million. The architect that started the project was no longer speaking publicly. The board continued to not talk about the costs and had no “Plan B” for what to do if it became to expensive to build. They began to plan and hire staff positions as if the school was going to happen. The estimated date of construction kept getting pushed back.

9. The bids came back yesterday at $218 million. After years of letting our children go to schools in run down facilities, they still do not have a facilities plan. They don’t have money to build this school. They don’t have a Plan B. They wasted all of this time on a big project when they could’ve started renovations 3-4 years ago. In doing that they’ve cost you as a taxpayer MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

10. We don’t know what their next move will be, but you as a resident of this county need to stay informed and ask the right questions. This board does need support, as our kids depend on it and not all of the people at the board were in support of this plan. But for the sake of the kids and our future, be involved!

Over $218 Million for this school. This is $100 Million more than the price tag was one year ago!?

Had they started on renovations for both schools 3-4 years ago or even started on the new HHS when they “claimed” that was their plan, we would’ve saved MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!!

Let’s be clear that we knew Hoptown High was in terrible shape 5 years ago and they did nothing. They then wasted all this time planning for a school thats not going to be built. All through that time they’ve let your kids go to school in that dump. They’ve been planning staffing based on this MEGA school and many teachers and admin have left the district.

I know many will want to laugh and say that this is what they deserve. Many will complain about the tax dollars wasted. But the KIDS that have been attending these schools have been hurt the most. The kids coming through in the years to come will enter with 0 planning for their future.

People wonder why our kids aren’t moving back here. People wonder why this area is not growing. Look at this mess and you can see why we’re failing the future.

ATTENTION CHRISTIAN COUNTY TAXPAYERS - THE MEGA SCHOOL BIDS ARE IN (Only two just like we said it would be):

OH BOY! OH BOY!! OH BOY!!!

The bids for the new MEGA Wolfpack School have now been opened. Following are the only two bids received:

A&K - $217,725,000.00
DW Wilburn - $216,348,000.00

Attached you will see the bid break down and the add on cost for some things and some deductions for some things. The base cost without the add-ons or deductions are: A&K: $203,407,000.00 and DW Wilburn: $198,855,00.00.

What is the world happened to Superintendent Bentzel's promise that the numbers would be between $92,000,000and 110,000,000.00? Who was Mr. Bentzel listening to when he was giving all these numbers out to the public during their MEAGA school presentations? Was the steering committee steered in the wrong direction with the fake estimates?

How is CCPS going to pay for this MEGA school now when they are bonded out at $115,000,000.00? Tax increases? Nickel Taxes? Increase property assessments again? Add another tax to our growing list of taxes already?

As always, form your own opinions and share as you wish but please share so this information can get out to the public.

For the last year we have been asking the questions about the financial feasibility of this MEGA School project. And it seems even after a year, they don’t have a clue about what’s going on in our district.

They rushed a vote on consolidating the schools against public sentiment. People have pressured into supporting the project. People want to know why an Architect stop speaking on this matter?

It appears this is going to cost way too much money and that the plans will have to be scrapped. They’ve wasted now almost 2 years planning a project that will not happen. If they had started renovations in 2018 instead of pushing the Nickel Tax, like everyone wanted, then we would’ve gotten it done for much cheaper.

The district has now wasted not only time, but they’ve cost you as taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars from their stubbornness to push across this project that only a few people “in-charge” want so very bad. They have no backup plan and will be starting from scratch.

There are 2 school board races in November that will determine the future of this district. Do your research and VOTE!

Christian County Anticipating Higher Bids For Combined High School Christian County School officials are concerned about potentially higher bids to build the Hopkinsville Christian County Academy building. School Superintendent Chris Bentzel told the Christian County Agribusiness Association during the July meeting bids will be opened next