News

LIGHTNING TOP 10: No. 5

Fate of Hendersonville High School was unknown as 2015 ended.

By Bill Moss, Published: December 23, 2015

Bearcat pause

Consolidating the Balfour Education Center and the Henderson County Early College in a new facility at Blue Ridge Community College was a no-brainer. Replacing Edneyville Elementary School? Done. Where’s the checkbook? How about Hendersonville High School? We’ll get back to you. The Bearcat Nation rose up and said, “Hold on a minute” when the county’s architect submitted a report that seemed to tilt strongly toward replacement rather than renovation. It would be cheaper and less disruptive to replace the 1926 building, the study said. HHS students and alumni said those projections failed to account for the cost of renovating the old building for some other use. As the year ended, the commissioners had reached consensus on the Balfour-Early College and Edneyville projects. Hanging in the balance at year’s end was HHS — and the details of financing some $100 million worth of construction.