Phase one work underway on Hancock County School improvements
HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV)- Months after the passage of a bond issue to fund sweeping improvements to county school campuses, phase one work has already begun at some Hancock County campuses.
The school district is putting its bond funding to work with several improvements planned across the district.
Phase one includes new turf for the Hancock High School baseball and softball fields. The softball field will also get new bleachers and a new press box.
Other phase one projects include a new middle school practice field, site work for a JROTC obstacle course, and new gym bleachers at Hancock North Central Elementary. Superintendent Rhett Ladner said, “The overall bond initiative is to impact every child that comes to the Hancock County School District. The timeline for this is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, we’re looking at a 3-year timeline as far as selling bonds and bidding everything out and trying to focus on one part as we finish this part to be able to fit in another part in. So, we’re looking at around probably 2029 for every project being completed.”
The district is already moving ahead with phase two. That work includes a new Hancock High School band facility, digital signs at schools across the district, and a new roof for Hancock High School. “Now we’re moving into phase two. Behind the scenes it takes a lot of preparation of meetings, discussing what we’re going to do, talking to administration about what we need to be focused on with our contractors and our architect, the development of that. Then we put a plan together and bid that out to construction companies. Growing up here, being able to see now moving from the old campus to this campus and to see the progress and be able to see how things are coming together to take Hancock into the future. I’m blessed to be a part of that legacy but also, I think our community is blessed to be doing that when you look at their support for this it was overwhelming because our people care about Hancock and that’s the cool thing about it.”
The projects are part of the district’s larger effort to improve athletic facilities, academics, and campus infrastructure throughout Hancock County.
