Quinn Administration Breaks Ground on New Mt. Vernon High School

MT. VERNON - Officials from the Governor Pat Quinn administration today joined state and local officials to break ground on a new high school for Mt. Vernon Township High School District 201. A total of $48 million of the funding comes from Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program for a project totaling $72.8 million. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to give every child the opportunity for a high quality education.

"An investment in our children's education is an investment in the future of Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "A new school in Mt. Vernon will give students in the area an opportunity for the high quality education they deserve. This new campus development will create construction jobs for hardworking residents and help boost the local economy. This is a win-win for the families and community of Mt. Vernon."

"The only thing more important than providing jobs, which this project does, is training young people for success in life," Capital Development Board Executive Director Jim Underwood said. "This new high school will have what it takes to help Mt. Vernon students succeed in the high-tech, competitive world they will soon enter."

The Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administer the school construction investments made possible by the Illinois Jobs Now! program. The CDB will help the school district manage the construction project.

The new high school, the second largest single school building construction project in the state of Illinois, will be approximately 315,000 square feet and sit on an 82 acre campus. It will house up to 1,800 students and replaces the current 109-year-old campus. The school will also contain a new 50,000-square-foot Area Career Education Center, the first new high school career center constructed in Illinois in more than 20 years.

The state of Illinois is providing $48.1 million for the building's construction, with the school district contributing $24.7 million. The project is expected to create more than 200 construction jobs for the southern Illinois region. The new campus is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.

"The new school is designed specifically to facilitate 21st century study, multi-disciplinary student engagement and real life application of learning," District 201 Superintendent Michael Smith said. "Thank you to Governor Quinn, area businesses and the Mt. Vernon community for this once in a hundred year opportunity for our students, our community and the southern Illinois region."

"It's great that students in this area will get to attend high school in such a beautiful and well-planned building," State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch said. "While it's true that we can learn in many settings, a beautiful facility with the technology and tools for thinking, inventing and applying knowledge can truly inspire students as they prepare for life beyond these walls."

The new Mt. Vernon high school is specifically designed around the Career Academy format to stress college and career readiness. The facility will help develop school to work partnerships in the area business community. Emphasis will be placed on Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM), Career and Technical Education, Health Services, Business Leadership and Human Services.

The Mt. Vernon school project is part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.