By Steve Keenan
OAK HILL — “Sometimes we tend to forget who we’re here for. We’re here for you. The School Building Authority is all about you, the future of Fayette County and of the state of West Virginia.”
Those were comments directed toward the elementary school children who were present from Mark Manchin, executive director of the state School Building Authority, during Friday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Oak Hill Elementary School.
The SBA is funding a large part of the $10 million-plus facility, which is scheduled to be completed in 16 to 18 months.
The school, designed by ZMM, will house students from three current Oak Hill area elementary facilities — Oak Hill, Oak Hill East End and Scarbro. Being built by Radford and Radford of Beckley on the campus of Oak Hill High School and Fayette Institute of Technology, it will cover 71,628 square feet and include more than 50 classrooms and learning centers. It will accommodate a student population of 675, according to Fayette County Schools Superintendent Chris Perkins.
“A project like this could not have come together without a lot of support and effort on the part of many individuals,” Perkins said. “Everyone came together as one big family to get us where we are today.”
Several busloads of elementary students attended and participated in the ceremony with Manchin and state schools Superintendent Steve Paine.
With support from several of his friends, third-grader Kevin Stanley said the students were “pretty excited” about the prospect of moving into their new digs.
Noting the construction will be the first new school building in the county in more than 30 years, Delegate David Perry, D-Fayette, said, “Truly this is progressive, visionary.” Peggy Farmer, board of education president, called the new school “a first step, a big step.”
According to Perkins, the access road for the new school will be located across from Virginia Street. Some of the current parking and entrance areas on campus will be realigned to provide “a better traffic flow.” Preliminary discussions have been held on installing an extra turn lane exiting the grounds.
At some point in the future, the Oak Hill Police Department will relocate to the site.
— E-mail: skeenan@register-herald.com
