Seven New Schools Are on the Way — Two High Schools Will Open Over ’06 and ’07

Five new DeSoto County schools, including two new high schools, are expected to be ready for opening next fall, school officials say.

In addition, the new Horn Lake and Southaven high schools are projected to be finished in December 2006 and officials say students will probably move into them when they return from the winter break in early January 2007.

The seven new schools are a major part of the school district’s $145 million capital improvements program, which is being funded primarily by the $115 million bond issue approved by voters last year.

The new schools, plus major renovations at many current schools, are designed to help the district handle major enrollment growth.

Officials have projected that enrollment this fall will reach 27,000, a 1,700 increase over last year.

Some projections are that the annual growth will reach 2,000 in a few years.

The first new school under the major capital program, Lewisburg Elementary School, opened earlier this month at 1717 Craft Road. Construction of a new Lewisburg Middle-High School is well under way on an adjacent campus just north of the elementary school.

The other new schools under construction are a new middle-high school and an adjacent elementary school on a site north of Goodman Road and west of Center Hill Road in East DeSoto County; a new elementary school on McIngvale north of Byhalia Road in Hernando and a new West DeSoto middle school on Star Landing Road in the Walls area.

Ken Reid, the school district’s assistant superintendent for business and technology, said work is proceeding well at the site of the new east schools.

“We have had fewer problems out there than anywhere,” he said. “We are really anticipating both of those being ready to open. They will open as a kindergarten-grade 10 complex. Lewisburg will go through grade 10, also.”

He said school officials had been a little concerned that the west middle school project might be running behind schedule.

But he said, “When we talk to them (people involved in the construction), they have said, ‘Well, we are behind in this but we are ahead in this.’ They are assuring us they are on schedule and they are going to have it ready. It will probably have grades 5-8.”

A project to build a new elementary school near the middle school was placed on hold after the elementary site was identified as a potential archeological site that includes Indian artifacts.

An archeological study is being conducted.

Earlier this year, school officials also delayed action on another new elementary school for the southern part of the county. For the time being, they opted to expand Pleasant Hill Elementary, a school that just opened in the fall of 2004.

The new Southaven High School is on Rasco Road adjacent and to the east of the current high school campus. Once students move into new facility, the current high school is to be renovated to house Southaven Middle School, which is at 175 Rasco Road near Airways. Plans call for an intermediate school to open in the middle school facilities. Intermediate schools served grades 4 and 5.

The new Horn Lake High is on the north side of Church Road a short distance west of Tulane Road. Horn Lake Middle School is to move to the current high school campus after it is renovated, with Horn Lake Intermediate School shifting to the middle school facilities.

Officials have said the school district’s Alternative Center, which serves students who have committed serious discipline infractions, will move to what is now the intermediate school.

– Jimmie Covington: (901) 333-2010