Montgomery firm picked to design new high school

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle School Board is moving forward with planning for a new high school.
The board voted this week to employ Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood Inc. of Montgomery as the architect for the project. The move was made on a vote of three-to- two with Jeff Gray, Kathy White-Goodwin and Bryune Rollins voting “yes” and chairperson Jennifer Sittason and Dr. James Joy voting “no.”
Two other architectural firms were considered for the design and engineering phase of the estimated $40 million project. They were Davis Associates of Birmingham and McKee and Associates of Huntsville. All three firms were interviewed by the board at a work session Jan. 15.
Before recommending an architect Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed thanked all three firms for their interest and participation in the interview process and noted that all three were well qualified to handle the project.”
Sittason thanked the city council for its support of a one-cent sales tax which made the funding of the school a reality and expressed appreciation to the architectural firms for hosting tours of new schools they had designed.
He said a team from his firm would meet soon with project stakeholders and work out details pertaining to design and engineering.
The new school, which will be built on a 52-acre site on Bethel Road, will be funded by a $22.1 million federal stimulus loan, a $300,000 per year commitment from the school district and a new one-cent sales tax, which became effective Jan. 1. The proposed two-story red brick building will contain 200,000 square feet of floor space and will accommodate 1,200 students, about 250 more than the current enrollment. It will also have a 1,200-seat auditorium, a 1,200-seat gymnasium, a 600-seat practice gym, a field house and practice fields for outdoor sports.
The board acted on other matters as follows:
School plans at a glance