CLARK COUNTY, Ind. — Greater Clark County Schools (GCCS) has been trying to relocate the aging Parkview Middle School away from its current location for some time now.
The district wants to move the school five miles northeast, where it believes the population center of the city is moving.
The site is the now-closed Twilight Golf Course off of Highway 62 in the Watson township.
At a public question and answer meeting tonight, Mark Laughner announced that GCCS has a purchase agreement in place with the Twilight property and the district is moving forward with trying to buy the separate Lankford property.
He said if all the deals go through, this gives the district 46 acres to work with to try and design a new middle school that meets everyone's needs.
He said he is trying to do what is best for GCCS and the city of Jeffersonville despite mixed reactions from the public.
"I was the principle in this building from 2005 to 2012. So I know this building very well. During that time, it was an old building then." Laughner said.
One of the biggest complaints with the new location is how far away it is from the city.
Laughner said the new location is not as far out as some residents may think. GCCS believes their enrollment and the cities population is shifting toward that part of town.
Laughner mentioned, during the meeting, before GCCS can build a new middle school on the land, they will need zoning changes, from the city, on the properties.
Right now the Twilight property is zoned "commercial-2" and needs to be zoned as institutional.
When attempting to move the school previously, a majority of Jeffersonville City council denied a rezoning request.
"We feel strongly that those two properties are ideal sights for a middle school, for our school district." Laughner said.