New video shows design of new Herbert Hoover school

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Schools on Thursday released a new video showing the design of the new Herbert Hoover High School.

The new school, which will be on acquired property along Frame Road, will consist of a career-technical education wing as well as traditional high school facilities.

“We’re very proud of it,” said Chuck Smith, the school system’s executive director of facilities and planning. “I think it will be something that the citizens of Kanawha County will be very, very proud of.”

Williamson Schriver Architects is behind the design.

The new school will replace the institution destroyed in the June 2016 flood. Students have been taking classes in portable units since the fall of 2017.

FEMA held a meeting Wednesday regarding the draft environmental assessment of the property. Smith said no one at the meeting expressed any concerns about the use of the land.

“We’ve been through this before with the elementary school, and this one we were a little bit more comfortable with it,” he said. “It’s been through a thorough investigation as far as what environmental issues may have occurred, and we feel very confident with the way it is going forward.”

FEMA is continuing to accept public comments on its draft assessment through next Thursday.

Smith said they are aiming to begin timber work later this fall. The school is slated to open in the fall of 2022.