Vigo County school consultants recommend Option 6; board moves forward with two‑high‑school plan

Consultants hired by the Vigo County School Board presented a six‑option facilities plan and said the district’s preferred path is Option 6, a two‑high‑school configuration that the team said balances long‑term education‑fund savings with more equitable elementary facilities.

In a Monday presentation, Jim of Gibraltar Design and the district’s leadership explained how they benchmarked building conditions, estimated per‑square‑foot costs in today’s dollars, and compared renovation versus new construction across the district. The team used Devaney Elementary as an example to show how systems (HVAC, roofing, glazing) age and how those conditions feed into both capital estimates and ongoing maintenance plans.

The consultants emphasized that their comparisons used current dollars rather than predicted inflation and that their baseline, Option 3, represents keeping all 23 schools (no savings). By contrast, the presenters said Option 1 (one high school) could generate about $12,000,000 per year in education‑fund staffing efficiencies and roughly $4,700,000 in annual operational savings; they estimated Option 1/2 scenarios would reduce near‑term capital needs by about $110,000,000 compared with Option 3.

The presentation also itemized avoided construction or modernization costs for schools recommended for closure or repurposing under different plans: the team gave estimates such as ~$204,000,000 for nine closed buildings and lower totals for eight, seven and four closed schools. The presenters noted those totals include soft costs — architectural, bonding and legal fees — not only hard construction costs.

Board members questioned tradeoffs that shaped the recommendation: geography and access for families west of the river, the so‑called “mega‑school” concern, and construction timing. Consultants said a new high school built on a new site would take about 2½–3 years; renovating an occupied building while students remain in place would likely extend that timeline substantially and increase contractor premiums. They also said no site for a consolidated high school had been identified and denied ongoing location rumors.

Public comment included questions about how maintenance was accounted for in the model; presenters said preventive maintenance needs are currently roughly $23,000,000 district‑wide and that reducing the number of buildings would allow more predictable preventive maintenance budgeting. Rick Burger, identifying himself as a taxpayer and current school board member, praised the work and thanked staff and consultants.

Presenters said the district’s next steps include an executive session to finalize consultant agreements and coordinated school‑site visits; they plan a more detailed presentation to the county council about construction costs and county support.

The transcript records the presenters’ statement that the group "adopted Option 6" as the plan they will pursue, but it does not record a roll‑call vote in the meeting transcript. Earlier in the meeting the board approved minutes via a procedural motion (motion to approve by Carrie; second by Mark). The meeting closed after motion to adjourn.