TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The Vigo County School Board approved a large-scale consolidation plan Monday night.
The plan calls for four elementary schools to be closed, the two high schools to be consolidated, and for the county to finish with 10 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, two early learning centers, an alternative educational center, and a career technical education center. School officials said the plans will take three to seven years and are necessary because of population decline and funding issues.
Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South will be consolidated into an as-yet-unnamed high school. The buildings will be repurposed into middle schools. Sugar Creek and Woodrow Wilson will also be middle schools. Three current middle schools, Honey Creek, Otter Creek, and Sarah Scott, will be turned into elementary schools. Davis Park Elementary, Hoosier Praier Elementary, Rio Grande Elementary, and Oubache Elementary will be closed.
Also, Farrington Grove Elementary School will become an alternative education center, Dixie Bee Elementary School will become a career technical education center, and Sugar Grove Elementary School will join Deming as an early learning center.
“Our kids have the talent to compete with anyone from anywhere; as a community, we need to provide them with the learning spaces that enhance the development of this talent so they can become the adults who make possible a reality,” said Superintendent Chris Himsel in prepared remarks provided to the news media. “Along with our talented educators, our kids deserve future-ready schools that have modern learning spaces that enhance their learning experiences instead of diminishing them.”
As part of the plan, the Vigo County School Corporation is planning to hire three outside firms: Gibraltar Design for planning, Ice Miller for legal services, and Baker Tilly to handle financing.
