Major renovations–totalling $11.2 million–are headed to LCHS.

     The heating, cooling, and lighting systems at LCHS will be completely renovated due to more than $11 million in grant funds from the School Building Authority (SBA) of WV. This will allow critical upgrades to be made at the high school.

     Lewis County High School earned $11.2 million as a needs-based grant by the SBA. The Superintendent of Lewis Co. Schools, Dr. Melinda Stewart, accepted the award Wednesday, April 10 in Charleston. 

     “We are very blessed as a school system to be awarded this amount of money to make such a large improvement,” Stewart said.

    The funds will be used along with a local contribution of $75,000 to replace the school’s original HVAC system, which currently has units down in the auditorium, gymnasium and several classrooms.

     LCHS teachers said they were happy with the news.

“There were a couple days that it was so cold in [the gym] that we actually removed our classes and put them in the cafeteria for the day–the whole class,” Mrs. Brooke Shaffer, gym and health teacher, said. The physical education teacher has been shouldering the challenges since the beginning of the school year.

From the time the HVAC began to display difficulties, staff has worked diligently to overcome the issues.

Shaffer added that with the changes of seasons come fluctuating temperatures in the gym.

“It was pretty cold part of the winter, then they put in the outside heaters, so it started getting better. We were able to work with that a little more than what we started with. It’ll probably go back to hot soon.”

     “We have a big situation in the gym. It’s had portable heaters all year […] there’s teacher’s classrooms […] so we’re going to have a lot of stuff fixed.” said Mr. John Whiston, LCHS principal.

     There are plans to upgrade the fire alarm system to be compatible with the new heating and cooling system and to replace the outdated fluorescent lighting with LED lights. 

     According to Dr. Stewart, Lewis County Schools will have three years to complete the renovations once the grant is signed.

     “Lewis County High School is the only high school in the district and is a central hub for the community.  It is important that we make the necessary improvements to make the learning environment conducive to teaching and learning, while making it welcoming to our community stakeholders,” Dr. Stewart said. 

     Last year, Lewis County’s project was submitted for consideration but was turned down. Again, in the fall, it was put forward and denied. However, the legislature voted to provide the SBA with additional funding, which allowed the high school’s renovations to be granted. 

     Previous funds have been awarded to LCHS by SBA. In 1994, the school was built using SBA funding and underwent a roof replacement in 2002.

   “We are very thankful for this opportunity for such an improvement of one of our facilities,” Dr. Stewart concluded.