Christian County Public School officials are continuing the conversation of possibly consolidating the district’s high schools, as both Hopkinsville High and Christian County High are in need of major building repairs.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel told the News Edge the initial discussion began in the fall of 2018.
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Josh Hunt said Gateway Academy has expanded over the last several years and offers career and vocational classes that each of the high schools may not have the space to offer.
He added that students who have to travel to classes at Gateway may be losing valuable time for other classes.
Hunt said when the group started meeting, they discovered the district’s bonding potential had increased to over $50 million.
A high school steering committee was formed earlier this year to look at the option of building two new high schools or consolidating and building one campus.
Hunt added the local planning committee approved making the high schools transitional schools. If the Christian County Board of Education chose to do so, they could move forward with consolidation or other improvements.
Hunt and Bentzel said a majority of the public feedback has been positive concerning the consolidation of the schools. However, they are continuing to seek input from the community.
The consolidation would be the largest in Christian County since 1959 when Crofton, Lacy, Pembroke, Sinking Fork, and South Christian formed Christian County High School. Attucks High School closed in 1967, with students choosing to attend either Hopkinsville or Christian County.
Consolidating Hopkinsville and Christian County would likely make it one of the three largest high schools in the state for student enrollment and the largest west of Louisville.