Northampton officials see options for new high and middle school

By Ted Shockley

Northampton’s new and rebuilt middle and high school complex will look dramatically different than the current physical plant.

The Northampton County Board of Supervisors and three members of its School Board on Tuesday night viewed five different construction and renovation proposals for the Eastville school, all of which will alter entrances, create a new full-sized middle-school gymnasium, and move the entire cafeteria.

Some of the storied parts of the current school will be torn down, including the agricultural shop and the auditorium, which has hosted school and community events for 65 years.

Also slated to be razed is the current cafeteria, which once served as the school’s gymnasium.

The construction plans were presented by the school board architects as a way to show different construction options.

One includes changing the front of the school by adding a middle-school wing next to the current gymnasium. All plans orient at least one main entrance at the school’s south side. 

Moving the cafeteria to the building’s south side also would cut food delivery traffic on the road between the school and its vocational careers center.

Oldest parts of the building date to 1954. An addition was opened in 1978.

Construction on the project will take 24 months. The construction budget is $28.3 million.

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