CARMEL, Ind. -- The Carmel Clay School Board has approved a motion to rebuild two elementary schools instead of closing them.
Carmel Clay Elementary School will close and be rebuilt at its current location. Orchard Park Elementary School will close and be rebuilt at a new location on Clay Center Road.
"It was a difficult recommendation for CCS Administration to bring to the Board and for the Board to approve since Orchard Park Elementary has been a special school in our community and big part of many students, teachers, and community members lives over the years," the school board said in a statement Monday evening. "We are fortunate to live in a community where people are passionate about their schools and education."
School officials say the new Orchard Park property is larger than the school's current location and will mean a shorter bus ride for roughly 1,300 students.
The school board says construction will begin on the two new schools in 2020 and they plan to have them open by July 2021.
According to the district, enrollment at Carmel Clay's 11 elementary schools was down 3 percent from what it was six years ago.
Read the district's full statement on the decision below.
"The CCS School Board made the difficult decision tonight to close Orchard Park Elementary and build a new elementary school at Clay Center Road which will open in July of 2021 along with a new Carmel Elementary facility built on its current site.
It was a difficult recommendation for CCS Administration to bring to the Board and for the Board to approve since Orchard Park Elementary has been a special school in our community and big part of many students, teachers, and community members lives over the years. We are fortunate to live in a community where people are passionate about their schools and education.
The recommendation was based on providing every student in our community, both now and in the future, a 21st-century learning environment in the most efficient and fiscally responsible manner. It is now our task to design and build those special learning facilities and work hard over the next three years to make these transitions a positive experience for the students and families we serve."
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