HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The 2023 school year in Christian County has been going like a well-oiled machine for over a month now, and Superintendent Chris Bentzel is proud of their success. He sat down with Christian County Now to talk about what makes this school year different, and how they will continue to grow.
“We’ve had a couple hiccups. We had an active shooter scenario at MLK, we’re always looking for more teachers and more bus drivers, but overall, I think it’s been a great start. Probably one of the best ones we have since I’ve started in the last few years post-COVID. I’m very proud of everyone and their hard work,” said Bentzel.
STAY IN THE KNOW: Get a weekly recap of the top news in Christian County with our free emailed newsletter.
The school system is still recovering from COVID-19 shutdowns. Workforce recovery and academic loss is still an issue they will dealing with, but Bentzel believes parent relationships have also been damaged, “I also think we are having some of the effects with parent relationships, we are trying to rekindle that positive relationship with parents moving forward.”
Within the first few weeks of school, a false active shooter threat was made to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. Although there was no danger, Bentzel is impressed with the three-minute response time by law enforcement. He said, “We had a threat, we handled it, we handled it quickly, and we communicated with the rest of the community in regard to what happened.”
On the positive side, this school year also started with the groundbreaking for the new Christian County High School. This massive project has the goal of combining Hopkinsville High and the existing Christian County High. Bentzel hopes the first year of construction will be successful so they can move forward with solidifying other elements like athletic components. When talking about the new school he said, “I think that’s going to be a game changer in our community.”
Goals for the school system include maintaining safety and security, having good test scores, putting weapons detections systems in middle schools throughout the county, establishing the free preschool program, and giving raises.