Students who attend W.S. Neal High School may see the signs of growth and renewal at the East Brewton campus in the near future.

Escambia County School Superintendent Randal Little said the board vote Thursday will move ahead the building plans that will include construction of an entirely new school— a more cost effective move than renovation of a school decades old.

“W.S. Neal High School is the most deplorable of our schools and it would cost more to renovate the school than it would to build a new facility,” Little said. “There is enough space already available at the campus to build without interrupting the learning/teaching process for our students.”

Little said the architectural firm of McKee and Associates have already begun work with preliminary sketches for the new facility.

“The building at W.S. Neal High School has certainly served its purpose,” Little said. “We would be waiting taxpayer money to put any more work into the facility.”

The funds needed to finance the construction are expected to be available after refinancing an $18 million bond debt. Little said with refinancing — and the forecast for substantial growth in the county — would mean a small increase in the service debt of the system.

For more details about a new W.S. Neal High School, see the weekend edition of The Brewton Standard.