21 JCPS high schools to get new athletic facilities; see where and when

Rae Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read

Twenty-one high schools will get "long overdue" facelifts as part of a multi-year plan to improve athletic facilities in the Jefferson County Public School system, Marty Pollio, the district's superintendent, announced Monday.

During the next three years, 16 schools will receive new turf fields for sports including football, soccer and lacrosse. Another five high schools will get turf fields in coming years, and some will get additions including new tracks, bleachers, press boxes and concession stands, said a release from JCPS spokesperson Mark Hebert.

"We are so far behind every other district that is around us," Pollio said at a news conference at Pleasure Ridge Park High School. "Our kids deserve to have the same facilities and the same opportunities as every other child in the commonwealth of Kentucky."

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The upgrades are part of the JCPS Future State Plan. Other priorities include incentives to attract and retain teachers and building schools in "underserved communities first," a school website said.

Pollio said it's difficult to give an exact cost right now but said it would be around $30 million. The turfs, he said, cost around $2 million each.

Turf installations will come in phases, and projects are expected to be completed by the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Construction will begin on 16 high schools during the following summers.

  • 2023: Academy at Shawnee, Central, Jeffersontown, Marion C. Moore and Pleasure Ridge Park

  • 2024: Doss, Fern Creek, Male, duPont Manual and Waggener

  • 2025: Atherton, Butler, Eastern, Fairdale, Southern and Valley

"We want what's best for our student-athletes. We've always been able to compete with high talent, but now we have the facilities that are going to match," April Brooks, district athletic director, said.

When Jada Murry, a junior who runs track and field and is a cheerleader, was "ecstatic" when she heard about the upgrades.

"It's definitely going to help us advance performance-wise," she said. "With track, shin splints are a really big thing, and so, the concrete doesn't help at all."

Murry is most excited for the new long jump pit. To practice for the event now, she travels about 20 minutes to the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center, where she spends four to six hours a week.

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JCPS plans new buildings for W.E.B. DuBois and Grace James Academy within the next two years, officials said. Iroquois, Seneca and Western High Schools will be replaced in the next ten, and they will all get new stadiums.

For now, the district will update paint and branding on buildings to ensure students and faculty "feel pride and excitement" when attending school events, the release said.

"It's our field. We want to make it look nice. It's something that we take pride in," said Arthur Pollard, assistant athletic director and football coach.

"They deserve it."

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Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS: 21 high schools to receive upgrades to their athletic facilities