Story by Ainsley Hall
HEDGESVILLE — Berkeley County Schools had a groundbreaking event for Tomahawk Intermediate School’s two new additions on Monday.
As a part of the 2022 Bond Project, these additions will create more classroom space so students will have a safe and comfortable place to learn.
Tomahawk Intermediate is at 6665 Hedgesville Road, along West Virginia Route 9, and serves around 600 students in Grades 3-5. With so many students, the school uses trailers as additional classroom space. However, with the new project, it will be able to move these students back into the main building.
The project includes a basketball court and two new additions that will each add more restrooms and five new classrooms. These classrooms will be new wings for third- and fourth-grade students.
Berkeley County Schools shared that the new additions will blend seamlessly to the existing building, and construction will not interfere with students’ learning.
“The construction timeline will be phased in to allow that transition without disruption to the students,” Berkeley County Schools said in an official statement. “By creating two additions instead of one, there are extra classrooms for each wing to keep the grade levels grouped together.”
It was also shared that once completed, the basketball court will be available to the community. This will give students a safe place to play and get exercise outside.
“Your generous support of the November 2022 Bond Call will help us provide an even better-equipped learning environment to help students thrive in and out of the classroom,” Berkeley County Schools shared on the school website. “Thank you, Berkeley County!”
The approximate budget for the project is $4.26 million. BCS has partnered with McKinley Architecture and Engineering to design the project. Now that construction has begun, the district plans to take a whole school year to complete and hope to finish by August 2025.