CLARK COUNTY — The future of the two Greater Clark County Schools buildings next to the Clark County Government Building is up in the air, as the board approved a motion for an architect to explore the costs of renovating one building, leaving the other up for sale.
The two buildings along Court Avenue house Options Alternative School and Corden Porter Services, the latter of which works mostly with special-needs children.
Superintendent Stephen Daeschner proposed a series of partnerships, including with Childplace, Clark County Superior Court No. 1 and University of Louisville. Childplace would house the alternative school, moving it to a building at 2420 E. 10th St., in Jeffersonville.
He said the school would then be renamed to Greater Clark County Middle/High School. University of Louisville would provide social-work students to serve as interns at that site. As for the court, details are still being worked out, but there is a possibility of using community corrections staff to help students work through the juvenile probation system, said Marty Bell, Greater Clark’s chief operating officer.
The original proposal involved renovating the current Options building, built in 1954, and housing Corden Porter students there. That would involve selling the circa-1930 Corden Porter building.
However, Becka Christensen, board member, said that might have a negative impact on the neighborhood. She also said the Corden Porter building had more grassy area, a gymnasium and more windows, unlike the Options building. “This one is sunshine and happiness and the other is dark and drab,” she said. “Why did we not get an option two? Why are we only looking at selling it?”
Bell said it is because the Corden Porter building is in more disrepair. However, Christensen pointed out the historical significance of it, saying it was once part of the original Jeffersonville High School.
Daeschner then said that for a higher cost, the board could approve a motion to have an architect to look at both buildings, rather than just the Options facility, to come up with a plan and cost estimates to renovate them. Then, the board could decide which to choose.
With Board President Ernie Gilbert absent, the board voted 6-0 to move the alternative program to Childplace. The board voted 5-1, with Christensen voting against, to hire The Estopinal Group to serve as the architect.
The contract for the group to review the former Options building was set to cost $6,000. Daeschner said he plans on this to now cost somewhere between that and $12,000.
THE NEW OPTIONS
More than the alternative school having a new building and name, there are some other changes. Assistant Superintendent Travis Haire said the change would have middle-school students returning to their normal school to receive services as opposed to the alternative setting. He said half of the high school students in the program would return to their home school as well. In the end, he said more students would be able to be served.
He said the schools would be given additional staff to handle the extra work, adding that it nets out to the same work force used now at Options.
Students in grades four through 12 given two or more days of out-of-school suspension would be required to attend the new alternative site, Haire added.
Many issues are still being worked out, such as transportation, he said. The district also is trying to work with the Indiana Department of Education to allow the alternative school to give high school diplomas to those who earn them.
The goal is to have the new alternative school opened by fall.
GETTING ONLINE
During the meeting, board members started using their new laptops as part of a program that allows the board to go paperless. Daeschner said this also helps with transparency, saying that the public will have access to all the documents in the board packet online as of Friday.
