Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Kentucky District Delays Start of School Following Construction Delays

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/18/23

The Hopkins County Board of Education in Madisonville, Ky., recently announced that it will push back the start date of the 2023–24 academic year based on construction delays at a new elementary school, according to local news. The district’s first day of school will move from August 9 to August 15 to accommodate construction at a replacement facility for Hanson Elementary School.

According to board members, the project was originally scheduled for completion in 2022 and has faced delays throughout the process. The school partnered with A & K Construction, who district officials say aren’t delivering what they promised, according to local news.

“You’ve put us in a position that we’re going to have to make an adjustment,” said Board Chairman Shannon Embry to A & K President Bill Boyd at a recent school board meeting.

“I am praying and hoping that you are a man true to your word,” said Superintendent Amy Smith to Boyd at the same meeting. “[I’m praying] that that date of completion will not be moved and we can look at our community and welcome our babies into their schools on August 15.”

Smith also said that Boyd has promised that the school’s interior will be completed by July 27 and other site work—like bus and car lanes—by August 7.

Smith also clarified that the purpose of moving the date was not to give the construction company additional leeway, but to give school staff the time to set up their classrooms properly before students arrive.

”We have based our decisions on the deadlines they’ve given us,” Smith said. “We are not the ones that are completing the construction. We rely on them—the experts—to be able to be able to do that and to give us a date and live by that.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Announces Acquisition of JJCA

    Wold Architects & Engineers, based in Minneapolis, Minn., recently announced that it has acquired JJCA, an architecture firm based in Nashville, Tenn., according to a press release. JJCA specializes in healthcare and education design; the partnership allows both firms to expand their presence across the country while building on existing strengths.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.