New MS Coast middle school will not be ready for start of class next week, district says
The 650 students enrolled at the new West Harrison Middle School will spend the beginning of the school year learning from their laptops at home.
New Superintendent Mitchell King said in an interview with the Sun Herald on Friday afternoon that the new building will not be complete in time for the first day of school on Aug. 5. That means students will have to learn virtually.
King said the contractor building the school, Wharton-Smith, was initially slated to complete construction by July 15. Then the company said it need until the end of the month. By Friday, it was clear that the building would not be ready for students next week.
King said the delays were caused by a “comedy of errors” including weather events like Hurricane Zeta, rain throughout the summer, and the COVID-19 pandemic which affected staffing on the construction site.
“They’re working as hard and as fast as they can to get it completed,” he said. “Of course we have to have it inspected by the building code offices to make sure that everything is safe for employees and students, and that’s what we’re doing.... We’re pushing as hard as we can. Due to those construction delays, we’ll just have to wait. We’re kind of at their mercy.”
Dominique White home-schooled her two kids last year because the district’s virtual option didn’t work well for them. After a year-and-a-half away from school, her son and daughter were both excited to get back to their friends and teachers.
Now, she’ll have to tell her daughter, who is starting the seventh grade at West Harrison Middle School, that she must stay home a little longer.
“She’s going to be upset,” White said.
White owns her own business and has flexible hours, so it won’t be too much trouble to supervise her virtual learning. But for parents with more typical jobs and work schedules, like White’s cousin, the news will be “a buzzkill.”
The district also announced the plan for West Harrison students to learn virtually on its Facebook page. The post said the district expects students will have to learn virtually for three to four weeks.
“We apologize for any inconvenience to our families,” the post said.
Each student will get their own computer to use for virtual learning. Distribution will take place at the Harrison County Alternative School, located at 11072 Highway 49, on the following days:
• 7th graders – Tuesday, August 3 (8 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
• 8th graders – Wednesday, August 4 (8 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
Registration for West Harrison Middle School was held at West Harrison High School. White said that when she went there earlier this week to register her daughter, no one said a word to suggest the building might not be ready in time.
“Everybody was like, ‘We’re ready to see you guys!’” White said. “We were all set and ready for everything to go like normal.”
King said he is hoping that the building will be complete enough for the school’s 35 teachers to work there starting on the first day of school.
King said he’d like to tell West Harrison Middle School parents that the district is doing its best to educate their children.
“I promise them that this is beyond our control,” he said. “It’s a set of circumstances that everything that could happen, did happen.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
