OKEECHOBEE — The long process to get financing from the state for a new high school in Okeechobee has cleared its first hurdle.

A Special Facilities Preapplication Committee visited Okeechobee High School on July 31 and determined that the building was in critical need of replacement.

Next, members of the school district will travel to Tallahassee later in August to make a presentation to the Special Facilities Committee, along with other districts requesting funds, to be ranked for future funding through the Special Facilities program.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Superintendent Ken Kenworthy. “Our rural students deserve everything that most other districts already provide their kids. The transformation a new high school will have on this community is impossible to measure — impacts on future economic growth in recruiting new businesses to our area, a more efficient facility making wise use of taxpayer dollars, not to mention the impact on student attendance and performance. Although this is the just the first hurdle in the process, it is the most important.”

The Okeechobee County School District originally applied for funding for a new high school in 2015. However, after a critical needs committee visited the campus that year, they determined the facility was not a critical need and that the building still had life left in it.

Last year the school board approved applying for special facilities consideration again. The committee, consisting of two representatives from the Florida Department of Education and two from other school districts, was scheduled to visit the high school in late March to early May. But COVID-19 delayed that and the visit was rescheduled to July 31.

Seven individuals took part in the presentation to the committee, including Kenworthy, Assistant Superintendent Dylan Tedders, Director of Operations Brian Barrett, Director of Finance Corey Wheeler, Principal of OHS Lauren Myers, Principal of Okeechobee Freshman Campus Vicki Goggans, Greg Kelley of CRA Architects, and student Zachary Reister.

Following the presentation, the committee toured the OHS and OFC campuses. After deliberating, the committee invited the presenters back in the room and let them know the group determined the request for building a new OHS as a critical need.

“We want to thank everyone who has been a part of this long journey, stretching back to 2015,” said Tedders. “Specifically, the Economic Council of Okeechobee, Steven Dobbs of SLD Engineering and Greg Kelley of CRA Architects for participating in the presentation to the committee. We are excited to be one step closer to bringing a new Okeechobee High School campus to the community we serve.”