HUNTINGTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” The Cabell County Board of Education voted to approve the budget and final design for the Cabell Midland High School cafeteria expansion and STEM lab project during its regular meeting Tuesday.
Cabell County Schools was awarded $1 million from the School Building Authority project in April 2024, and Edward Tucker Architects was awarded the project during a board meeting in August 2024.
Deputy Superintendent Justin Boggs previously told The Herald-Dispatch the project started as a way to create additional space for engineering students and other school programs while doubling as a way to have additional cafeteria space.
Boggs said the funds will expire in April 2027, and the project should be completed before then.
During TuesdayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s meeting, Phoebe Randolph, president of Edward Tucker Architects, told the board, although there are about 1,757 students at Cabell Midland, there are only two lunch periods, and the cafeteria has a capacity of about 500 students.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a bit of a gap there. There is the opportunity to have lunch in the student center, but that doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t provide any seating for the full number of students who are eating at any given time,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ she said.
The design for the renovations and addition, Randolph said, includes furniture thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s more ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œflexible.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Overall, she said there would be minimal renovations, as the firm would focus on the addition including the STEAM lab and expansion.
She said the plan includes the addition of AV equipment and lighting improvements.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s important to note there are a lot of after school groups and clubs who will be able to utilize this space, which is the space thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not really currently available at the school,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Randolph said.
The total recommended budget for the project is $3.5 million, with $1 million coming from the SBA. This amount would include the full costs of the expansion, furniture, equipment and signage.
She also offered some alternate improvements which, although not priorities, could be budgeted for depending on bids submitted to the board. She said these alternates would include enhancements to the flooring and ceiling in the current dining area and would cost around $360,000.
Randolph said hopefully bid documents would be finished by the end of this year, a contract could be awarded by the end of February, and the project could be completed by the end of 2026 over the winter break.
Superintendent Tim Hardesty said of the project, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œA lot of the things that we do at our schools beyond just even AP, when we have different organizations and groups of students that meet, sometimes when you get a group thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s more than 15 or 20 or 25 and thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s some activities involved, such as robotics, Olympiad, speech and debate, they donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t really have a home in a school, and so this will give them a space to be able to meet and some of the technology that they would need to meet.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Other business
In other business, attorneys David Amsbary and Nick Gordon proposed Cabell County Schools become involved in the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œScholar ExchangeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ fifth grade through high school program through the National Constitution Center.
The program, they said, teaches students about the U.S. Constitution through lawyers and experts who talk to classes over video conferences.
The attorneys said, although several other states are involved, they want all West Virginia schools to participate in the program.
The board approved the full consent agenda. It will have its next regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 2.
