BROWNSTOWN — A project to expand the number of vehicular entrances into Brownstown Elementary School from one to three has begun to make a little headway.
During a recent Brownstown Central Community School Corp. board of school trustees meeting, Assistant Superintendent Jade Peters reported the Brownstown Town Council had tentatively agreed to accept the dedication of right of way for a 60-foot strip of roadway extending east from Sugar Street on the north end of the property.
That strip, which has no recorded deed, lies between apartments owned by Hoosier Christian Village. It ends at property belonging to the school corporation, which would pay for construction of the new road.
That road would continue to a new parking lot to be built on the north side of the school as part of a $16.81 million project to add a new gymnasium and replace the HVAC.
The new street also would meet up with the proposed extension of Water Street south from Commerce Street, adding a third entrance to the school. The only entrance to school at this time is off of Base Road from the east.
The construction of the new streets to be funded by the school would open up six to 10 home building sites with the potential of more, Peters said. Those homes would be built by developers with the idea that they might use students in a new construction trades class at Brownstown Central High School for some of the work, Peters said.
After that discussion, architect Brendan Brown with TowerPinkster of New Albany gave the school board an update on the gymnasium project with the intention of finalizing those plans during the board’s November meeting. Peters said the hope is construction of the gymnasium would start in February 2024.
Brown said the new parking lot near the extension of Water Street and the road from Hoosier Christian Village would provide roughly 200 new spaces.
“So you’re in the ballpark of close to 400 spaces by the time you add all your existing parking,” he said.
Trustees eventually asked Brown to make some adjustments to the lobby/concession areas in the new gymnasium before it comes back for final approval.
In other matters, trustees agreed to make April 8, 2024, an online learning day because of the total solar eclipse, which is expected to double or triple Jackson County’s population for a few days.
Trustees also OK’d the resignations/terminations of Becky Crockett, a special needs instructional aide at the elementary school; Stephanie Austin, an office secretary at the elementary school; Shannon Arthur, an eighth grade boys basketball coach; and Jamey Wilson, a sixth grade girls basketball coach.
Appointments approved include Amanda Hoene as office secretary at the elementary school; Michael Boshears and Clayton Barger as co-eighth grade boys basketball coaches; Alisha Griffin as secretary/accounts payable for the corporation; Stephen Crawford as fifth grade boys basketball coach; and Jaret Terrell as sixth grade girls basketball coach.
Additional appropriations of $11,468.07 also were approved. They include $6,968.07 to Harrell-Fish Inc. of Bedford for water pump and softener repairs at the middle and high schools and $4,500 to Burch’s Sewer and Draining Cleaning of Brownstown for sewer repairs at the high school and bus barn and electrical work at the tennis courts at the high school.