Find updates on the progress of the second high school at HCPS New HS page. For conversation and media updates, visit our Facebook page @forhhs2.
Review the project page found at Nielsen Builders here.
And here’s the HHS2 project page from the architect, Grimm + Parker.
Ground has been broken. HHS2 to open Aug. 2022! 2023?
Ethan Swift
FAQs
HHS is 500+ students over capacity. Enrollment in the high school is only going up. Will a second high school open in August 2022 or August 2023? For HHS2 to open in Aug 2022, ground needs to be broken in December of 2019. This means that City Council will need to vote on the issue during the 11/12 meeting or the school will be delayed until Aug 2023.
Tuesday, November 5 (2019), the School Board will find out the Guaranteed Maximum Price (see PDF: HHS2-GMP_Proposal-05NOV19) for Harrisonburg’s second high school when the architect/builder team present the 60% drawings. We think building a second high school is critical and sooner is better (and less expensive) than later. https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/hcsva/Board.nsf/Public
It’s been a while since much of the community has been closely engaged in this issue and we want to remind you of the issues surrounding HHS2.
How much will this cost? The longer we delay on the build, the more this school will cost. Almost two years ago, the projected price was about $75M dollars. Prices have gone up over the past 2 years and are projected to increase even more as we delay. We won’t be surprised if the guaranteed minimum price is larger. We did some calculations based on what recent school builds have cost per square foot and we wouldn’t be surprised by a price of $92M.
Do we really need a second high school? As of the 9/30/2019 census for the Department of Education, there were 1881 students at HHS. HHS was build for 1360 students. There are a lot of students in the high school and that number is only going to increase. Almost all cohorts of students grades 8 and below have more students than grades 9 and up.
Why didn’t we just add on to HHS? In 2017, a space study committee consisting of parents, teachers and community members looked at the options of an annex, addition or new high school. Based on enrollment projects, the way the current HS was built, and thinking about the needs of Harrisonburg students and teachers, the committee recommended a new high school. In the long run, this was the most fiscally responsible decision and provides the best educational opportunities for Harrisonburg students. https://harrisonburg.k12.va.us/District/1754–District-page-mode-view-ID-1154.html
Why is the school going to be at that location at South Main? It was the only piece of land that was large enough in Harrisonburg City that was for sale. We don’t love the location either, but the city can only buy land that is for sale. City Council has continually decided not to purchase land for new schools because it takes the land off the tax rolls. That means when it’s time to build a new school, there are limited options for where to put it because the City has to go out and find land.
Which school will my student attend? We don’t know and are pretty sure that hasn’t yet been decided. Our understanding is that the city will district students based on their residence. Students will have a home school, but if they are in the STEM or Fine Arts programs, they will take those specialized classes at the school that has the Academy. Both schools will continue to offer strong programs in all subjects. There will be opportunities for the students to travel between the two schools. HCPS are working to ensure that there is equity between the two schools.
This new school isn’t quite what I’d hoped for… why can’t we get everything we wanted? There are things we like about the new school and there are things that we’re unhappy about. Although we don’t always see this at the national or Commonwealth levels, government is about compromise. We think that this is a case where the positives outweigh the negatives.
If you have additional questions, email forhhs2@gmail.com. We’ll do our best to post accurate responses to your questions.
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