HAMPTON — The city’s school system completed more than 30 capital improvement projects totaling $11.4 million over the summer. Officials on Wednesday told City Council those renovations are the beginning of a yearslong campaign to deliver system-wide upgrades.
The biggest project was an overhaul of the 55-year-old Bassette Elementary School off Bell Street. According to the school system’s Chief Operations Officer Dan Bowling, the building hadn’t seen any major renovations until last summer, when a $5 million project included new doors and windows, pavement, lighting and flooring, as well as upgrades to the building’s exterior, main office, classrooms, bathrooms, cafeteria, hallways and media center.
Bassette wasn’t the only school to receive attention. Hampton renovated 16 science classrooms and nine science prep rooms across Lindsay Middle School, Eaton Middle School and Tarrant Middle School. It also demolished and fully replaced half of its elementary schools’ media centers, including Bassette.
Hampton’s Bassette Elementary renovations included overhauls to its classrooms, hallways, media center and exterior spaces. (Courtesy/Hampton City Schools)
In addition to a new science wing at Kecoughtan High School, which added 18 classrooms, and breezeway enclosures at many sites that were completed in previous years, other projects the system completed over the summer include:
Repairing all of the system’s athletic tracks, including rubberizing high school tracks
Renovating four high school athletic fields complete with new dugouts, fencing, scorer’s booths and scoreboards
Roof replacements at Smith Elementary, Langley Elementary and Bethel High School
Chiller and boiler replacements at Bethel Elementary and two new gymnasium air conditioning units at Phoebus High School
Replacing 17 marquees with digital displays
Ceiling replacements at Jones Magnet Middle School
Bathroom upgrades at Hampton High School and Patriot Operations Center
Superintendent Raymond Haynes told council the improvements were a testament to the partnership between Hampton and its schools to create better environments for students and faculty.
Raymond Haynes meets with staff members at Tarrant Middle School before the first day of school on Aug. 28, 2023 in Hampton, Virginia. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
“We were able to experience how tax dollars are being used not just to maintain buildings, but to actually transform our learning spaces that support safety, innovation and of course, student success,” Haynes said.
“We are deeply grateful for the city’s commitment to public education, and for the trust you place in us as stewards of these resources.”
Bowling said this summer’s projects totaled $11.4 million. City Council typically allocates roughly $7.6 million to Hampton City Schools, including fiscal year 2026, to evaluate and address its maintenance and technology needs, along with extra funding as needed for large projects like Kecoughtan’s science wing, according to City Manager Mary Bunting.
However, Bunting added rising costs have increased the school system’s financial needs, and the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, which runs from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2030, has allocated nearly $66 million for the school system to continue improvements.
Those will start this summer, according to Bowling. This year’s headliner is a more than 40,000-square-foot science addition to Bethel High School. Bowling said the new building is scheduled to open in November and will have 19 new learning spaces.
Other projects being budgeted include a classroom addition to Mary Peake Elementary, a fifth grade pod renovation at Burbank Elementary, major overhauls to Langley Elementary and Aberdeen Elementary, baseball and softball field upgrades at Bethel High and Hampton High, adding a breezeway enclosure at the Adult Learning Center and Bridgeport Academy and adding two store fronts at the Peninsula Town Center to the Academies of Hampton.
Bowling said as long as council provides funding, Hampton schools can expect even more transformations for students.
“Everything that you see here today just sparks great things to come in the future,” Bowling said.
Council members applauded the improvements, and Mayor Jimmy Gray said despite budget constraints, he wants to continue investing as much as possible into the school system.
“We can’t have the best model for educating our kids and not have them in the best environment and the best environment for our teachers,” Gray said.
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/02/01/hampton-city-schools-new-renovations/
