Howevalley replacement named Cecilia Valley

Along with a new building, Howevalley Elementary faculty and students have acquired a new name.

The new elementary school to be built in Cecilia will be called Cecilia Valley Elementary School. The name received a unanimous vote from the Hardin County Schools board at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

The new school will replace Howevalley Elementary. Names were suggested by the school’s students, staff, faculty and families. Construction begins next year.

Many of the names included “valley” as a nod to the original name. Other monikers revealed the wishes of students, including Barbie Elementary and Santa Elementary. The top choices from the school’s site-based decision-making council were Valley Ridge Elementary, Heritage Valley Elementary and Valley Elementary.

Board member Charlie Wise made a motion to adopt the name Cecilia Valley, saying he liked including “Valley” to honor Howevalley and using “Cecilia” because of the support the Cecilia community has shown for the school.

“The people of Howevalley and Cecilia have really been supportive of this project,” Wise said.

The school colors will be Carolina blue, navy and yellow and the mascot will be the Cubs.

The school will be built on Ky. 86. Before construction can begin, the district must honor a lease of the land to David Miller, who farms the acreage. Former owner Bill Cecil leased the land to Miller and went to court in May in an attempt to free the land for school construction once he decided to sell it to HCS. Hardin District Judge John David Simcoe ruled the lease must be honored until its conclusion in December.

The building will have a 600-student capacity and is projected to be 65,700 square feet, according to construction documents. Along with replacing Howevalley Elementary, it will draw students from Lakewood and G.C. Burkhead elementary schools to alleviate crowding. Costs are estimated at $15.2 million.

Kelly Cantrall can be reached at (270) 505-1747 or kcantrall@thenewsenterprise.com.