Wise officials choose sites for new high schools

**retiredteach** · June 17th, 2009, 04:08 PM

At the June 15 meeting, the Board of Education selected the following sites for the construction of the new high schools if the plan moves forward as presented. For the Coeburn and Saint Paul communities, the Board chose the area known as the Bond-Child property which is located on US Highway 58 between the town of Coeburn and the City of Norton. The property is located approximately two miles from the town of Coeburn and is situated on the right-hand side of the highway before the old Lonesome Pine Drive-In. For the Powell Valley and Appalachia communities, the Board chose the area immediately behind Powell Valley High School as the site for the new high school. For the Pound and Wise communities, the Board chose the property known as the Apple House 1. This property is located on US Highway 23, approximately 2 miles past the Glamorgan traffic light. This is the large bowl-shaped area on the right-hand side of the road going to Pound from Wise. All of the relevant information on site selection is located on the school division?s website.

**VHSLhelper** · June 17th, 2009, 04:34 PM

was that for me? because that's basically the same thing from post 1, and it doesn't answer my question
(I'm going through the same thing on a KY board right now... I asked a q, 3 ppl replied, and none of them answered any part of my q.)

**Biggin** · June 17th, 2009, 04:42 PM

and yeah bond is near tacoma

**pvfan** · June 17th, 2009, 09:14 PM

Showed adult films back in the day didn't they?

**simple man** · June 17th, 2009, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by pvfan

County does but you pay like 0.57 on each $100 my argument is that the average property values are higher in the communities of BSG and Wise compared to Appy and Pound. Thus, these two communities would provide more of the property tax dollars the county gets to use.

The more you own, the more you can pay. Use your logic and you have paid for everything by yourself. But all I have said is that Appy's elem still doesn't have a gym, does it. Maybe we could haul the kids to BSG and let them walk back to the school for gym class,instead.

**NotSoSilentBob** · June 17th, 2009, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by smarty

Zack and I were wondering the same thing.... the only drive-in I know of in Coeburn is the one located near Tacoma. I don't see there being that much land there to build all the facilities...maybe someone can clarify?

If you look at the map on the school board's website, it shows the school on top of the ridge, with the athletic facilities on up the mountain towards Coeburn Mountain Rd.

There is an access road for the property between O'Quinn's Trailer and Southwest Camper Sales.

**NotSoSilentBob** · June 17th, 2009, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by VHSLhelper

Here ya go .....

Using the calculator at Loan Calculator ...

Borrowing 100M for 20 years at 4% produces a monthly payment of $605,980.33. That's $7,271,764 per year. So the 20 year total is ...
$145,435,280, or 45%.

======

On a semi-related matter, here's a cost update.

The new Mingo Central HS, which will consolidate Matewan, Gilbert,
Williamson & Burch in 2 years, just broke ground. It'll be 173,000 square feet and have about 65 classrooms, which includes a new Career Center. Bids totalled $35 million.

$35M Mingo Central High technically under construction

I stand corrected. I guess that is why I'm not an accountant.

**beamer_ball** · June 29th, 2009, 02:12 AM

Hearing on Wise County high school consolidation set for July 6 - Kingsport Times-News Online

Hearing on Wise County high school consolidation set for July 6

By Staff Report

WISE — The Wise County school division’s Education Center in Wise will host the July 6 public hearing on new high schools.

The Wise County School Board had originally planned the meeting to be held at J.J. Kelly High School, but the school is hosting the summer Arts Alive! program. The Education Center is where the board holds its regular monthly workshop and action sessions.

The July 6 meeting will begin at 6 p.m., with the public hearing portion geared to public comment regarding the school division’s plans to build three new high schools. The school board voted 5-3 last November to close the existing six high schools and build three new facilities, a plan of action the division’s administration has been developing since January.

Earlier this month, the board chose three building sites for the new schools and voted 5-3 to proceed with the plan.

The board eyes building a new high school directly behind the existing Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap, a facility that would bring together the student populations of PVHS and Appalachia.

A site west of Coeburn next to U.S. Route 58-A would be the location of a new high school for Coeburn and St. Paul students, and a site near Wise just off U.S. Route 23 is the proposed location of a new high school for the merger of J.J. Kelly High School in Wise and Pound High School.

All new schools are to be built to the same design and specifications, which include about 135,000 square feet of classroom and other spaces to accommodate 700-student populations each.

School division administrators have been preparing a consolidation plan with a preliminary total cost estimate of between $90 million and $100 million. Closure of the existing six high schools and cutting in half the number of high schools operated by the county would save better than $3 million in annual operating costs, according to school division officials, which could be applied to annual debt service on building the three new schools.

The school division has posted information on the consolidation plan including site selection, cost estimates and educational specifications on the division Web site at Wise County Public Schools under the “New High Schools” link.