After a year of construction, Jackson County High School’s new estimated $3.3 million CTE building is close to completion.
That is what Jackson County Director of Schools Jason Hardy told the county school board during the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday. Hardy said school officials are scheduled to have a walkthrough of the building next week.
“We are looking at hopefully wrapping this project up in the next month or two,” Hardy said. “You know our goal is to have it open day one of the next school year. So hopefully we will get everything outfitted, all the equipment put in, and everything will go well.”
When the construction began, the target completion date was January 2026. Hardy said though the project missed the target date, he is pleased with how the building has turned out.
“I think we have had a state of emergency last year and a state of emergency this year with ice, so some things you can’t control,” Hardy said. “We knew even if it was finished in January that we would not be using the facility this school year.”
Hardy said completing the building is a huge accomplishment and will be a major addition to the school system.
“This gives us the ability to have things like HVAC, cosmetology, welding, veterinary science, nursing, all on our campus, where our kids don’t have to leave Jackson County High School and get on the bus and drive 30 minutes,” Hardy said. “So it’s going to open up a lot more opportunities for our kids, and you know, we hope one of our big goals is that we can maybe have some adult programs in there to help out the community, not just the students.”
Hardy said the school system will continue partnering with TCAT Livingston and TCAT Hartsville to send students to continue offering other CTE programs.