Plans released for new Greater Clark elementary schools, new pool at Jeff High

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
Updated ·5 min read

Sep. 15—CLARK COUNTY — Major projects are ahead for Greater Clark County Schools as the district progresses with facility plans, including projects to build new elementary schools.

The district's facility projects were one of the main focuses of Greater Clark's Tuesday work session, which included presentations of plans and designs for several building projects.

Greater Clark Superintendent Mark Laughner said the projects will result in the transformation of facilities across the district, including the planned replacement of six outdated buildings. The district is also seeking to replace the Jeffersonville High School swimming pool with a new facility.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Architects from Lancer + Beebe and J. Lake Architecture & Design discussed plans and presented renderings for the building of two new elementary schools in Greater Clark.

The plans include replacing Pleasant Ridge and Jonathan Jennings elementary schools in Charlestown with a new school at the Jonathan Jennings site, as well as replacing Wilson and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools in Jeffersonville with a new school at the Wilson site.

Laughner said Greater Clark aims to begin construction on the two new elementary schools in March or April of 2023. The goal is to open the new schools in the 2024-25 school year.

"We believe this will be a game-changer for the district when you look at these two new elementary schools...," Laughner said. "We will replace four of the oldest elementaries in our district that are in the poorest condition that we have in the district."

Laughner said the cost to build the two schools was originally projected to be about $80 million, but it will likely be closer to $100 million due to inflation.

The new Charlestown elementary will be located to the back of the Jonathan Jennings property off of Market Street, and the building will be organized in seven sections per grade.

The new Jeffersonville school will include five sections per grade. The Wilson site is located between Veterans Parkway and Charlestown-Jeffersonville Pike.

The architects said the design of the new elementary schools is similar, and both buildings will include common spaces that can be used for overflow classroom space.

The media centers will be the "hubs" located at the center of the two buildings, and the standard classroom size will be 900 square feet.

Laughner also detailed plans to replace Parkwood Elementary in Clarksville, which is in "very, very poor condition." He said replacing instead of renovating the building would be more cost-effective.

There are also plans to develop hundreds of new apartments near Parkwood, so there will be a need for expanded classroom space, he said. The project would have an estimated $46 million budget.

Laughner said the design of the new Parkwood building would be similar to the two new elementary schools in Jeffersonville and Charlestown. It would be organized into five sections per grade level.

If the Parkwood project moves forward, Greater Clark would see five elementary schools replaced with three buildings that will be "modern, state-of-the-art facilities," he said.

NATATORIUM

On Tuesday, an architect with Fanning Howey presented a feasibility study and renderings for the proposed Jeffersonville High School Natatorium, which would be a pool facility near the stadium and baseball field that stands separate from the high school.

Laughner said the existing pool at Jeffersonville High School is nearly 50 years old, and it is "in desperate need of attention."

"We can't put that off any longer," he said.

The proposed facility would include a 50-meter pool with expanded swimming lanes, diving wells, spectator seating, locker rooms and a lobby with concessions. The project is expected to cost about $32 million.

Laughner said the natatorium would be available not only for Jeffersonville High School students, but also district employees and other Greater Clark schools. The facility could generate revenue for the district through options such as monthly memberships for community members or use by other schools or organizations.

A new facility could help attract families to Jeffersonville High School and Greater Clark, he said.

"To me, it's a great community resource that's not just for Greater Clark or Jeffersonville High School, but also for the City of Jeffersonville," Laughner said.

FACILITY PLANS

Tuesday's work session also included an update on the district's 5-year-facility plan, which was adopted last year. Now, the district is adding a couple more years to maintain a "rolling 5-year facility plan."

The district is looking to the third year of the original plan. The first year included a series of smaller facility updates across the district, and the second year (2022-23) involves the two new elementary schools.

The new 5-year facility plan goes from 2023 to 2028. The first year of the new plan includes an estimated budget of $86 million for 2023-24, and it includes the Parkwood Elementary and Jeffersonville High School pool projects.

Both the Parkwood and pool projects will go to the school board at the end of the year for public hearings.

The second year of the new plan in 2024-25 includes an estimated $25.5 million budget, including $5 million to convert the old Jeffersonville High School pool area into a new wrestling arena.

The third year in 2025-26 includes the new middle school project. Greater Clark is in the process of finding land to build a new school in Jeffersonville to replace to Parkview Middle School.

The district is considering the former Twilight Golf Course property and a neighboring property on Utica Sellersburg Road and New Chapel Road for the new school, but it will need rezoning approval from the Jeffersonville City Council before the project can proceed.

In July, the city council denied Greater Clark's request to rezone the 26-acre Utica Sellersburg Road property for the middle school.

The fourth and fifth years of the 5-year-plan would involve smaller district-wide projects from 2026 to 2028, including improvements to roofing, HVAC, flooring and other renovations.

Laughner said although there are major projects ahead, the district has seen recent increases in assessed value that make it possible to build the new facilities without raising the tax rate — it is projected to remain at $1.10.

Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified one of the Jeffersonville elementary schools that will be replaced with a new school. The new elementary school in Jeffersonville will replace Wilson and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools.