With Hemlock Semiconductor’s recently announced $375 million expansion in Thomas Township underway, Hemlock Public School District officials are preparing for a potential influx of students as new families move to the area.
Company officials have said the planned expansion will create 170 new permanent jobs in Thomas Township, where HSC is headquartered. Hemlock Public Schools Superintendent Matt Killingbeck said the school district has plans for improvements to accommodate potential new students who may arrive as a result. He said the district has partnered with HSC in a variety of capacities for more than 50 years, not limited to STEM-related ventures.
“We have an update planned for our high school with a new gymnasium, a new theater, new science rooms and an updated cafeteria in addition to our recently announced fieldhouse proposal,” Killingbeck said. “Our enrollment is the most balanced that we’ve seen over the last 40 years. We’re ready for growth, and updating all our school buildings has us poised for this opportunity.”
One such HSC employee is Mike Huston, who recently moved to Hemlock from Texas with his wife and four children.
“Hemlock was very accommodating in being very receptive to us as a school,” Huston said in a statement. “The reason that brought me here was the STEM Center, the agreement HSC has with Hemlock School but also to provide that education to my kids.”
HSC officials announced the expansion project during a groundbreaking event in October that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other elected officials and community leaders attended. The project, which includes three new buildings, is expected to be completed in 2025.
According to company officials, in addition to the $52 Billion CHIPS act signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, the $375 million investment by HSC was made following public infrastructure improvements in Thomas Township and neighboring Saginaw Township, as well as an approved $37 million in state funds to assist the two townships in increasing local wastewater capacity needed for the expansion.
HSC was founded in 1961 and currently employs approximately 1,350 people in Saginaw County.