School Board Unveils Plans For New CHS
Schedule Means School Will Be
Without Gym For Up To 2 Years
By Brandon Reed
Commerce residents got their first look at the proposed new Commerce High School Monday night.
A near capacity crowd gathered in the CHS cafeteria to attend a called meeting of the Commerce Board of Education, where plans for the new high school were unveiled.
Superintendent Dr. James E. “Mac” McCoy told those gathered that the board had decided to do the project in one phase due to the cost savings.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it,” McCoy said.
That decision means, however, that the school will have to do without a gymnasium for possibly two years.
CHS Athletic Director Steve Savage spoke, saying he would do everything to try to make things work for the kids.
“I don’t know if there’s a better plan,” Savage said. “That’s not what my job is. My job is to try to make it work.”
Jessica Winstead of the architectural firm of Robertson Loia Roof unveiled the floor plans, and explained several of the building’s features to the audience. Security was a main feature, she explained, and the plan offers limited access points throughout the building to control where people can enter the building, and when they can access certain portions of the building.
The new facility will comprise 37 classroom units, with an initial capacity of 650 students. Key spaces have been sized to give expandability up to 975 students. The academic wing will place all of the curriculum classes in the same area, such as a science hub and a social studies hub.
It will include a larger student cafeteria, which will consist of about 7,200 square feet. It will also serve as a multi-purpose area, being able to host prom functions or cheerleading practice.
Corridors throughout the facility will give more room to move as the student body grows.
The performing arts area of the school will be named in honor of Bill Anderson, whose City Lights concerts raised money to help equip the facility. It will include a theater capable of seating about 480 people, and can also be used for testing during the day. It will have a 1,600-foot stage, and there will be a band suite and chorale suite in the performing arts area.
McCoy said the just under $500,000 that had been raised for the performing arts center from the City Lights Festival will be used to pay for the lighting and the sound system for the center.
The new gymnasium will be a two-story facility, with a seating capacity of 1,400, with a mezzanine level that will allow around 500 people to watch from above. It will have one main basketball court, as well as four practice courts. On the upper level, there will be an oversized multi-purpose room that can serve the wrestling team and the cheerleaders.
Architect Jeff Couch said the school will be positioned on the crest of the land, on an axis facing the corner of Lakewood Drive. There will be a bus entry point separate from the student drop off entry. There will also be a large student parking area, which will also serve as event parking for the theater or for functions in the gym.
The practice field will be preserved, with a second practice field going in behind the facility. Three existing buildings, the east wing, south wing, and the current technology room will be kept. McCoy said those buildings would be renovated for growth and potential classrooms.
A track will be located at the middle school, due to a lack of room at the high school campus, McCoy said.
“We’ve tried to maximize what we can get out of the building,” Couch said. “At this point, I think we’re bumping on the ceiling of what we can build with our budget.”
McCoy said classes will continue at the current site during construction.
“We’ll be having class in our school as we’re building,” he said. “There may be one or two that’s displaced, but for the most part, academic focus will not change.”
Once ground is broken over the summer, construction time is estimated at 24 months.
“With good weather, we could be quicker,” McCoy said. “I’ve been told I’ll end the drought; as soon as we break ground, it’ll start raining.”
One parent in the audience asked why there couldn’t have been a way to leave the current gym in place during construction.
“Unfortunately, the existing gym is right in the middle of where everything needs to be,” said Duane Roof, vice president of Robertson Loia Roof. “The board has looked at solutions. The only way we can get this thing in the budget now is a layout similar to what we have now.”
Roof also said that if the project appears to be heading over budget, the plans will be reworked to bring it back within the $20 million budget.
“It has to fit the budget,” he said.
McCoy said physical education classes depend upon good weather, and in the case of bad weather, portable classrooms will be available.
McCoy said he felt like the plan that was in place was the best design that they have.
“This is something we’re going to be proud of for years to come,” McCoy said.
Board of Education chairman Dr. Paul Sergent echoed Savage’s sentiments to close the meeting.
“We’re going to do this together, and we’re going to get though it,” he said. “We’ll all be fine.”
