HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. — The Halifax County High School Blue Comets band played peppy tunes and smiling cheerleaders danced and waved their pompoms as a crowd gathered Friday morning outside the new high school.
The reason for the celebration was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new school in South Boston, which opened its doors to students in August at the start of the 2025-26 school year.
“Today marks more than an opening of a building. It is the beginning of a new chapter for our students, for our staff and our community,” said HCHS Principal Kelvin Davis, in his welcome speech. “It is about opening doors of opportunity, opening hearts of learning and opening the future for generations to come.”
Davis continued, “This school stands as a symbol of a vision, collaboration and commitment. It reflects the dedication of so many…who believe in the importance of creating a place where young people can learn and grow together.”
Halifax County School Board student representative Johan Imbachi Lopez — a current student at the high school — said walking through the halls of the new school for the first time filled him with “pride and joy.”
“Every hallway, classroom and collaborative space has been designed to ignite curiosity, encourage bold thinking, and equip students to turn their potential into achievement,” Lopez stated. “It is a foundation for dreams, a stage for growth, and a launchpad for the leaders of tomorrow.”
Equipping students to reach their full potential and preparing them for the “opportunities that lie ahead” is at the heart of HCHS’ mission, according to Davis.
“Inside of those walls, future leaders, artists, scientists, athletes and engineers will discover their potential,” the high school principal said.
The new high school is a $129 million investment in Halifax County students’ education. The primary funding source of the new high school was a 1% local sales tax specifically for school construction and capital improvement projects, signed off by Halifax County voters in a November 2019 election.
“Looking at this project behind us, a $129 million high school, is absolutely proof positive that when we work together — school board, board of supervisors, delegates, town council, community leaders and the community — there is no limit to what we can accomplish for the people and the kids of Halifax County,” said Halifax County School Board Chair Derek Mason.
Jeff Boehm, president of Howard Shockey & Sons — contractor for the high school construction project — also commended the Halifax County community and leaders for working together to make the vision for the new high school a reality. “You’ve heard a lot about teamwork today,” Boehm said. “Halifax County works together even when it’s hard…Working together involves compromise and that’s something that we’re losing sight of as a nation, so congratulations to you for learning to compromise.”
Former Virginia Del. James Edmunds first pitched the bill for the 1% sales tax for the construction of the new high school to the state legislature. At the time, Edmunds said a local 1% sales tax for school construction was “unheard of” in Virginia, but the bill passed.
Since Halifax County implemented the 1% sales tax, several other counties in Virginia have put referendums for the 1% sales tax on their ballots in local elections and built new schools using the tax revenues, Edmunds related.
“So, the ripple effect that Halifax County started could be billions and billions of dollars for school instruction,” Edmunds said. “It’s amazing what the opportunities for this are.”
Virginia Del. Tommy Wright, who was a supporter of the 1% sales tax bill, also shared his thoughts on the new high school at Friday’s ribbon-cutting celebration.
“Standing here, I’m reminded of why schools like this matter so much,” Wright said. “They’re more than just a building, they’re part of the community. A place for our children to begin building their future.”
Wright added that the new high school is something that should be a source of pride for the community: a school that will serve “generations to come.”
“It’s a place of opportunity, pride and promise, and I am confident that it will inspire and empower many generations of Halifax County students to come,” Wright concluded.
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Source: This article by Miranda Baines appeared in the Gazette Virginian. See the full story and all the photos here.