School Board Approves $83 Million HHS Renovation

The future of Hillsboro High School is a little clearer today. The school board decided on January 26 to move forward with a plan to renovate the school, using the current 28-acre location. The current estimated cost for the renovation is $83 million.

Recently MNPS unveiled two different plans to update the aging facility by either undergoing a major renovation, or razing the current structure and building new. Both of the plans utilized the full 28 acres of the campus, following a study in 2014 that looked at selling off 11 acres of the site for commercial development.

The next step will be for the MNPS capital budget request to go to the Mayor and Council for approval, which will be evaluated and voted on in the spring and early summer. It’s important to note that approval of that capital expenditure is needed to move forward with construction.

A few notes about the renovation plan:

• Those involved have emphasized that “renovation” doesn’t mean putting a coat of paint on things. This is an extensive renovation and repurposing of the building. The architecturally significant portion of the façade will be retained, along with the auditorium and the gym, but a new section of classrooms will be added and the layout will be altered to meet current and future needs.
• The athletic fields will be retained on site, which was a priority for students and teachers, with upgrades including widening the football field to accommodate soccer and a full 8-lane track so the school can host track meets.
• Currently the school has 1,200 students; the new building will accommodate 1,600.
• The internal street layout attempts to take traffic off of Hillsboro Pike by having buses enter off Richard Jones and students and parents enter the campus off of Glen Echo.

Find more about the path to the renovation of the Hillsboro High School at this post.