Hendry County School District officials, LaBelle City Commissioners, and Hendry County Commissioners officially break ground on the new LHS. [Photo courtesy Hendry County School District]

LABELLE- The Hendry County School District held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new LaBelle High School on April 28.

The current high school population of 1,448 students has exceeded the original 1,000 students the existing high school was designed to accommodate when it was first built in 1979.

"Today’s ceremony symbolizes a new era,” said Superintendent Michael Swindle. “Four and a half years ago, we identified the fact that we needed a new school. Our footprint needed to grow. Not only were we crowding on space, but the footprint and the age of our fleet of schools was aging."

The school will feature tennis courts, volleyball courts, baseball and softball fields, and a football field. The school will be two stories and have a 400-plus seat auditorium. The drama, band, and art rooms will be located near the auditorium. 

The school district has dealt with overcrowding with the installation of 33 portable classrooms (or modules), at an approximate cost of $200,000 each at today’s prices. 

The school district investigated expanding the existing high school building, but with growth expected to continue, parking, physical education and athletic facilities, the cafeteria and auditorium would continue to be a problem. 

The school has reached the end of its useful life, according to the Florida Department of Education, Swindle said, which makes the district eligible for a new school within Hendry County. 

"Looking around here, I don’t see dirt and heavy machinery. I see the foundation of our future,” said LHS principal Tammy Bass. “This groundbreaking isn’t about a new building, it’s about a new era for our community. When a student walks into a state-of-the-art classroom, it sends a clear message: You are worth this investment.”

Without any property sufficiently sized to accommodate a new school within the school district, the board searched neighboring LaBelle properties over the past year, settling on a purchase of 80 acres from Deanna Hansen in the amount of $3.6 million. 

Located between Helms Road and Cowboy Way Road, the new school would also alleviate traffic problems along Cowboy Way where two other schools are located, while providing four-lane ingress and egress to the school. Currently, traffic backs up during student drop-off and pick-up times.