Christian County School Board discuss fate of three schools

Seating was limited tonight as over a hundred people packed into a board room as the Christian County Board of Education discussed the fate of three schools.

The discussion first began with District Chief Operations Officer, Kathy Hancock saying Lacy and Belmont Elementary Schools had four more years of life before the state would mandate that those two schools to be closed and North Drive Middle School possibly being reconfigured.

School board member Linda Keller wanted to reassure concerned parents that school officials are not in the business of shutting down schools.

Christian County Public School Superintendent Mary Ann Gemmil says she wanted a status report on the three schools since the building of Lacy Elementary School is considerably older than other schools in the district, Belmont Elementary School is landlocked and parking space has become an issue and whether or not North Drive Middle School should be reconfigured.

Alisia Jenkins, whose children attend Lacy says she is concerned and expressed her thoughts on the issue.

Superintendent, Gemmill added that tonight’s meeting was just merely a workshop to get some direction on what officials should do especially if the school district will be re-districted in the near future.

Outgoing school board member, Betsy Glover received a standing ovation from the crowd when she remarked that officials should look into saving the schools somehow from being closed down.

School board members also brought up the idea of possibly putting 6^th grade students back in elementary schools and how that would impact the district.

Board members also discussed the future of Highland Elementary School, which remains empty and is primarily used as a storage space for surplus items.

Board members all agreed to further discuss the status of Lacy and Belmont Elementary Schools and North Drive Middle School, in addition to possibly moving forward with re-districting plans and whether or not Highland Elementary School will continue to be used as storage facility for the school district during the next regular board of education meeting.
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