City of Jeffersonville to consider transportation funding for Jeffersonville High School

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Jul. 7—JEFFERSONVILLE — The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission will consider funding transportation for large group activities at Jeffersonville High School.

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said the commission will soon vote on the proposed funding of a coach bus for the high school, which would be used to transport student groups to events outside the city.

Moore is also a member of the redevelopment commission. He said after talking to Greater Clark County Schools administrators and families, he learned about the need for transportation for student activities, whether they are athletics or arts programs.

The bus will seat 56 passengers, Moore said. The redevelopment commission will consider allocating about $400,000 for transportation using tax increment financing (TIF) dollars.

"We're going to give the money to Greater Clark, and they will then purchase a bus for anything and everything related to Jeff High that needs large group transportation," Moore said.

The redevelopment commission, the Jeffersonville City Council and the Greater Clark board will vote on an interlocal agreement to allow the City of Jeffersonville to provide the funding. The school board will consider the agreement at next Tuesday's meeting.

The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission will consider the funding and the agreement at a special meeting on July 17. The Jeffersonville City Council will also vote on the agreement at its July 17 meeting, according to Moore.

In addition, the Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission will consider allocating $50,000 to help the school purchase new video screens and a scoreboard at the Jeffersonville High School gym.

"We've got an incredible audio-visual team at Jeff High, so I think this will be something that will complement that," Moore said.

The mayor said he is focused on providing a "financial tool to strengthen our schools in the City of Jeff."

"If you're a kid looking around and needing some direction, Jeff High is an incredible school with incredible opportunities," Moore said. "Kids that go there, when they go to an event somewhere 150 miles away, I want them to know that the city supports them and cares about them and wants to help them."

"And putting them on a beautiful new bus, as they enter a facility, people are going to know Jeffersonville is represented," he said. "I think it's important that the kids know that the city supports them."

Moore said he feels there is "no greater investment we can make as a city than to invest in our children."

"I really feel an enormous amount of pride, because I think our kids deserve this," he said.