New High School Contract Awarded By Loudoun County School Board

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Plans for a new high school in Loudoun County continue to move forward as the Loudoun County School Board approved a construction contract on Tuesday.

The school board unanimously approved a $202,599,000 contract with Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc. for High School 14. Chef Operating Officer Kevin Lewis said the contractor has built many other Loudoun County Public Schools locations and was the lowest bidder.

The school board suspended the rules to move the informational item to action on Tuesday. Lewis said the contract is in a 60-day hold, and the deadline is Sept. 13. The school board has a meeting on Sept. 9 before the contract deadline, but Lewis recommended an earlier approval to allow the contractor to sign subcontractors and move forward with the project on schedule.

The not-yet-named High School 14 will be co-located on the campus of Watson Mountain Middle School, which opened at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, as well as a future elementary school. The school campus is located near the Evergreen Mills Road and Ryan Road intersection in the Dulles North planning district.

The high school's design and construction was approved in the school board-approved capital budget in fiscal year 2024. According to LCPS, the four-floor, 346,700-square-foot high school will have a capacity of 2,100 students in grades nine to 12. Features will include classrooms, cafeteria, auditorium, media center, gymnasium, an auxiliary gymnasium and outdoor physical education fields. The school's football and track stadium will be able to host state championship meets and events with a capacity of 5,000 spectators. The expanded gymnasium will have the ability to host 3,000 spectators.

The last LCPS high school to open was Lightridge High School in Aldie in 2020. The new High School 14 is expected to open in fall 2028. Renderings of the school are available on the LCPS website.