Hutchings College and Career Academy delays moving into new building

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Hutchings College and Career Academy won’t be moving into its new location next month. The school board now has enough money to finish the entire project at one time instead of two phases as originally planned.

The Williams Complex on Anthony Road should have been ready to welcome students next month. A $3.1 million dollar grant from the state wasn’t enough to make the CTAE programs top notch.

“We started to work on the project, put the design together, [develop] the programs that would go in and once we got into it we realized that we had more needs than we had money,” explained Executive Director of Capital Programs for the Bibb County School District Jason Daniel.

The new Hutchings College and Career Academy location is now a $6 million project.

“We were going to take it as far as it would go and prioritize the programs for a phase roll out. Given that the board approved additional ESPLOST funds for the complete build out, we had the increased scope of work where we got all the programs built out at the same time,” said Daniels.

School District CTAE Director Dr. Cassandra Miller-Washington doesn’t mind pushing the opening date back.

“I’m okay with that because I’d rather for it to be quality than for us to rush. I think that will be the best and we really want the best for our students,” said Dr. Miller-Washington.

She promises nothing but high quality for her students.

“Cosmetology is going to be a complete salon,” explained Dr. Miller-Washington.

The Culinary Arts program is what Dr. Miller-Washington put the most effort into.

“It’s going to have a true training area, a bistro kitchen and a cafe. The kids will actually be able to cook lunch and the community will be able to come in and have lunch. They’ll be able to utilize this place as a restaurant,” said Dr. Miller-Washington.

The Anthony Road location is closer to Central Georgia Technical College making it easier for students to take dual enrollment classes. 

“You will see college classes going on, you will see us utilizing the labs, working together. Students will get dropped off here or on the Central Georgia Tech Campus so you’ll see a true partnership,” explained Dr. Miller-Washington.

It’s a move Dr. Miller-Washington feels is necessary to truly prepare students for the work force.

The school board will decide what happens with the old building on Riverside Drive, but a few services, like the data center, will need to stay there. The new school is expected to open in August 2016.