The Christian County School Board voted to approve the amended District Facility Plan, that was recommended by the Local Planning Committee, at Thursday’s meeting.
Before the vote was held, two citizens spoke against the amended plan, with Shannon Wood bringing up his concerns with the ongoing high school consolidation, saying he doesn’t understand the rush into another plan while that one is still awaiting completion.
The approval of the DFP is the next step in the process and paves the way for changes to the school system that would start in the 2024-2025 school year, and includes putting sixth grade back into the middle schools, moving it from elementary. It moves Indian Hills Elementary School—both staff and students—to the existing Hopkinsville Middle School facility, while the staff and students of HMS would move to the current Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary building.
The students and staff of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary would be moved accordingly throughout the other seven elementary schools. Speaking on concerns about middle school students who take part in after school activities such as sports or band, Superintendent Chris Bentzel says those students could be transported by CCPS to the proper facilities.
Indian Hills Assistant Principal Matthew Francies says Indian Hills is at full capacity with students, so he believes the move will be beneficial, but he says they are intent to keep the Indian Hills name and culture.
The Inspire Early Learning Academy and a pre-kindergarten center would move into the Indian Hills Elementary campus. The board approved the amended District Facility Plan unanimously.
The next step in the process is for a public hearing on the plan to be held, currently set for July 6, and from there it heads to the Kentucky Department of Education for review.