Crews break ground on middle school meant to serve growing area of southern Indiana

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Southern Indiana leaders held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for a school that will serve a growing population of Clark County.

In 2023, Greater Clark County Schools purchased 20 acres of the former Twi-Lite Golf Course to build the new middle school on that site. River Ridge Middle School will include a new school building, parking lots, a football field and track.

Off State Road 62 in Jeffersonville, the project has been more than five years in the making. And as the population grows in the area, school leaders have been working to keep up with the growing amount of students.

"When you look at what's going on between Jeffersonville and Charlestown, there's already 4,000 homes platted or approved under construction," GCCS Superintendent Mark Laughner said Thursday. "The new school is being built to meet the growing needs of the community."

Somewhere between 700-800 students from Parkview Middle School will transfer to the new River Ridge Middle School, but, in the next five years, that number is expected to reach 1,000.

New GCCS Middle School Site Rendering (Courtesy: Sabak, Wilson & Lingo, Inc.)

Laughner said they still don't know what the future plans are for Parkview.

W.E. Wilson Elementary and Thomas Jefferson Elementary schools will merge to become Pike Elementary school, named for its location on Charlestown Pike. Pike Elementary will be located at the former athletic fields for Wilson next door to the school at 2915 Charlestown Pike in Jeffersonville.

It's one of three new elementary schools Greater Clark County Schools is building that will replace five of the district's oldest buildings. In Charlestown, Jonathan Jennings Elementary and Pleasant Ridge Elementary schools will combine to become Charlestown Elementary School, keeping the city's school names consistent.

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