VALDOSTA — Construction on the new and highly anticipated Valdosta High School is in its final stretch, according to the Valdosta Board of Education.

At last week’s board meeting, board member Trey Sherwood said work on the $83 million school is 90 percent complete.

“I’m happy to report yet again that things are moving along fantastic,” Sherwood said.

“We hope things are going to continue on this pace. I don’t really see how it won’t. … We’re so far ahead of the game at this point.”

Sherwood said the smooth pace is especially good considering in the past, new facilities for the school district were still being finished when students showed up to class.

Two wings at the new VHS are completely done and ready to go, meaning some staging of the classrooms may begin soon, Sherwood said.

Students will move into the new school August 2018. With the school district’s recent spike in enrollment, Superintendent Todd Cason said the move-in date can’t come soon enough.

The current VHS was built in the 1970s, and school officials have long said an upgrade is badly needed.

The new school ranges from one story to three, with the focal point being an imposing, three-story administration dome. Inside, the dome will contain a large open space walled in by glass, giving all three stories a view of the dome’s center.

The buildings, which include a fine arts facility, wrap around a central courtyard of sidewalks, covered canopies and an outdoor eating area. The indoor cafeteria will seat 800 people, and the media center will have a coffee bar.

Although there won’t be a football stadium, the new school will house a slew of other spaces for various sports, including 10 lighted tennis courts, two football practice fields, a soccer field, a three-court basketball/volleyball arena, a track, a marching band practice field, and a 50,000 square-foot, multi-purpose athletic facility that includes an indoor, 50-yard football practice field.