Clark-Pleasant schools hopes to start construction on its new elementary school next month.
The school board on Tuesday approved a contract with The Skillman Corporation, an Indianapolis-based construction management firm, for $26.8 million, about $300,000 less than the district was planning to spend on the project, said Jay Staley, business director for Clark-Pleasant schools.
Clark-Pleasant schools is able to pay for construction of the building because it has paid off many of its other debts, Spray said in September, when Clark-Pleasant first announced plans to build the new school.
Clark-Pleasant will pay for the project over a period of several years on top of the current debts it is still paying off. The amount the school pays per year and the amount of time the school stays in debt will depend on how much money the district has available in its budget. By keeping the project within its budget, the district won’t have to ask for a property tax hike through a referendum, spokesperson John Venter said. Voters in the district just approved a referendum in November. That additional money is being used to improve safety, security and mental health programming at the schools.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The new school will be 110,000 square feet and include 45 classrooms, a cafeteria and kitchen, a gymnasium, a large group instruction room and space for offices and conference rooms for staff.
The contractor will bid each of the 14 construction categories, such as masonry, metals and fire protection, to different construction companies. The Skillman Corporation will oversee the project and make sure construction goes according to plan, but will not do any of the construction itself. The contractor anticipates work will start in mid-July, according to the contract.
Clark-Pleasant schools expects to wrap up construction by February 2021. The school, which will hold as many as 800 students, is slated to welcome its first set of kids during the 2021-22 school year, Staley said.
The district isn’t sure yet how many students the school will have when it opens, Venter said.
The new school, which does not have a name yet, will be located just north of Clark-Pleasant Middle School, west of the Interstate 65 and Worthsville Road interchange in Greenwood. The school will replicate the size and design of Center Grove’s Walnut Grove Elementary School, which is set to open in August, said Tony Heath, Skillman’s Senior Project Manager.
Four new subdivisions are planned near the new elementary school, and nine are in the works throughout the school district, which is expected to continue its enrollment climb.
When the new Clark-Pleasant school opens it 2021, it will be the sixth elementary school in the district of 6,633 students, and the first since Pleasant Crossing Elementary School opened in 2007. The district also has a middle school, high school and preschool. Clark-Pleasant has added more than 1,000 students since Pleasant Crossing opened, and enrollment is expected to continue at a pace of 100 students per year, Spray said in September.
During the 2020-21 school year, Clark-Pleasant schools will go through a redistricting process, which will move some students to other schools based on where they live, Spray said. Some will be transferred to the new school.
Leading up to the opening of Walnut Grove Elementary this fall, Center Grove created portable classrooms in trailers due to overcrowding. Clark-Pleasant does not plan to do that, Venter said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at some details of the new Clark-Pleasant elementary school:
Construction starts;Mid-July 2019
Construction ends;February 2021
School opens;Summer 2021
Location;North of Clark-Pleasant Middle School, northwest of Worthsville Road and Interstate 65 and west of a new, expansive Greenwood park
Grades;K-5
Capacity;800 students
[sc:pullout-text-end]
