The upcoming campus Watson Chapel School District Superintendent Tom Wilson called the showcase of U.S. 79 has finally had its groundbreaking.
Wilson, district board members, architects and contractors for the new Watson Chapel High School ceremonially turned the dirt Tuesday afternoon. The two-story, 109,745-square-foot campus will be constructed at the site of the recently demolished junior high school between Camden (U.S. 79) and Sulphur Springs roads and is set for completion by the start of the 2026-27 school year, although Wilson believes the project will finish well ahead of schedule.
“I really think it’s going to be in the spring, but it depends on the weather,” Wilson said.
School officials and engineers spruced up the ceremony by spraying some of the hidden dirt black and gold, the district’s colors. They also dropped gold beads in the divots, a homage to ancient groundbreakings where gold was often sacrificed to the earth gods in return, according to Baldwin & Shell Construction Co. President Bobby Gosser Jr.
The school is the result of a millage increase voters approved in August 2022, one month after Wilson came out of a brief retirement to become superintendent. Baldwin & Shell in March of this year gave the district a guaranteed maximum price of $38,862,559, and the district will pay Lewis Architects Engineers $2,137,441 in design fees, according to documentation the district received.
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Engineers and school officials faced a quandary in determining a maximum price since the millage election because the cost of construction soared and state law required the district to include a storm safe room. To meet the needs, the district had to draw money from its building fund, sell construction bonds for $8,009,169, and take out a $4.12 million second lien bond issue to go with the proceeds from the millage.
“We had a law passed that they were going to give us a break on (the safe room),” said State Rep. Mike Holcomb, R-Pine Bluff, a Watson Chapel alumnus and former faculty member who was involved in helping the district obtain state funding to help cover rising costs. He said the act was not signed into law after the March 2023 tornadoes went through the state.
“Overall, it’s just a good project, good for the community of Pine Bluff. I’m excited about it,” Holcomb said.
Amenities for the new high school will include a synthetic turf courtyard; a 1,500-seat competition gym with retractable seating; modern media center; science, family and consumer science, and marketing and project labs.
The campus will replace the current high school next door, which opened in 1977 and will be converted into a junior high school. The present junior high is located at the former L.L. Owen Elementary.
Getting to the groundbreaking gave Wilson a sense of relief.
“It’s a lot of relief for everybody to get to this stage,” he said. “We want to take a different culture into this new building, and we’re helping kids and want kids to enjoy school. We think they will love the new facility. We’re two-and-a-half years — probably two years — away, so hopefully, we’ll move that into the new building.”
Watson Chapel School District Superintendent Tom Wilson, center, flings a chunk of dirt in mid-air as he, school board members and engineers break ground on a new high school Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Watson Chapel School District Superintendent Tom Wilson makes opening remarks before breaking ground on a new high school Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)