FORTVILLE — A months-long planning initiative is leaning toward a new elementary school as part of the strategy for the fast-growing Mt. Vernon school district.
Building a new school, along with a realignment at the district’s other buildings, would be one way to give Mt. Vernon the room it needs to grow, the district’s leader says.
In preparation for the 2,000 new students expected over the next decade, Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation kicked off its growth planning initiative — MV Community Champions — with a public meeting in August 2019. An advisory committee then formed of about 50 stakeholders representing school corporation faculty, staff and administration along with community members, parents and local business representatives. That committee spent the months that followed studying public feedback from the first meeting and coming up with ideas that will eventually become a plan to guide the school district through its future growth.
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Jack Parker, Mt. Vernon superintendent, discussed those ideas before a crowd in the Mt. Vernon High School auditorium on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
“We need to understand that the recommendation that we’re developing will impact the Mt. Vernon community forever, so this is a pivotal time for our community,” Parker said.
The school district currently has a preschool and alternative school in its administration building; three elementary schools for kindergarten through fifth grade; a middle school for sixth through eighth grade; and a high school for ninth through 12th.
A demographic study the school corporation commissioned indicates the middle school is on pace to exceed capacity by 2021, the high school by 2025 and the elementary schools by 2027.
Parker pointed to feedback from the first MV Community Champions session indicating the most preferable grade configuration was keeping preschool where it is; changing the elementary schools to kindergarten through fourth grade; adding an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade; changing the middle school to seventh and eighth grade and keeping the high school ninth through 12th.
The least preferred options called for keeping the district’s grade configuration the same except for the creation of a freshman center and senior center.
Data the Community Champions advisory committee studied is available at mvcsc.k12.in.us/content/706.
The committee came up with several scenarios regarding introducing an intermediate school. Parker said the most popular idea among committee members calls for changing Fortville Elementary School into an intermediate school, which would house grades five and six; building a new elementary school by 2023; changing the elementary schools’ grade configuration to kindergarten through fourth grade; and renovating the high school in 2026 and middle and intermediate schools in 2028 to increase classroom space.
“Right now, we’re kind of thinking this might be what we’re progressing toward, what we might be developing a recommendation around,” Parker said.
Converting Fortville Elementary would be fairly easy, Parker said, as it’s already an intermediate school building housing an elementary school, with its locker bays, high water fountains and big cafeteria with large tables.
He also urged attendees not to leave the meeting thinking it was decided that a new elementary school will be built in 2023.
“All we know is we’re recommending a new elementary school; that’s the direction we’re going,” he said. “And it might not even be that year, because we can’t afford to build something before we have the students to fill it, or close to it.”
In a Q-and-A after the presentation, during which an attendee asked where a new elementary school would go, Parker said the school corporation owns about 60 acres of land in Mt. Comfort. That’s not where much of the area’s new residential construction is going, however, he continued, making it a less-than-ideal location for a new school. He added the school corporation could sell the land and use the funds to buy land closer to Fortville and McCordsville, where subdivisions are spreading.
Parker said building a new school would cost around $30 million, making it subject to a referendum.
He also discussed a potential backup plan for accommodating growth if the district decides against a new building. The district could keep pre-kindergarten and the alternative school in the administration building; change the elementary schools to kindergarten through fourth grade; move fifth-graders into the administration building; make the middle school sixth and seventh grade; and move eighth-graders into the high school.
“That kind of goes against our values a bit, but if we have to do what we have to do, we have to do it,” Parker said. “We will have to be creative.”
One solution Parker said he does not want to pursue is portable classrooms.
Presentation attendees provided further input via a survey they accessed through their smartphones. The Community Champions advisory committee will mull that feedback and continue to refine ideas at a meeting in February. Parker said the committee hopes to present a plan to the school board in March.
“I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes,” Parker said. “I have my principles and my values, but really it’s the community’s decision, and we will keep you informed along the way.”
Michelle Anderson has four children in the Mt. Vernon school system.
“I definitely want the best scenario for them,” she told the Daily Reporter after the presentation. “But there’s not going to be 300 people in here who all agree on what the best scenario is, so it’s interesting to hear the take on it.”
She admitted she worries about the tax implications of whatever plan gets chosen and how the district’s demographics will change among the schools.
“There’s the fear of if we jump the gun too soon, or if we wait too long and then where do we put these kids while we’re trying to scramble, and then maybe we don’t do it right,” she said.
Anderson said the school corporation’s administration and faculty have a good rapport with those who live in the district.
“I fear that if we jump too fast, that might create some tensions,” she continued. “And that would be sad because that’s one of their biggest assets — the relationship that they have within the community.”
Tony May, a Mt. Vernon School Board member, told the Daily Reporter he was impressed with the community support and number of people who turned out to both Community Champions meetings and all of the advisory committee sessions.
He said part of him wants to be conservative and try to wait for the growth before any physical expansions. He also emphasized the importance of making sure existing spaces are used in the best ways possible.
“If the economy takes a turn, I don’t want to be left with half-empty buildings,” May said.
At the same time, he continued, he agrees with Parker’s opposition toward getting in a situation in which portable classrooms are necessary.
He said he’s glad to see the school system is getting ahead of the issue before it’s too late.
“The future’s really good out there,” May said.
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"We need to understand that the recommendation that we’re developing will impact the Mt. Vernon community forever, so this is a pivotal time for our community."
Jack Parker
Superintendent, Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation
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Possible Mt. Vernon future growth plan
- Change Fortville Elementary School into intermediate school housing grades five and six
- Build new elementary school by 2023
- Change elementary schools’ grade configuration to kindergarten through fourth grade
- Renovate high school in 2026 to increase classroom space
- Renovate middle and intermediate schools in 2028 to increase classroom space
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