The Avon School District has been looking for a partner. Last month, voters turned down a three-district consolidation measure the would have combined Avon, Abingdon and Bushnell-Prairie City.
Avon Superintendent Dan Oakley had been in discussions with his counterparts in Abingdon and B-PC on two-district consolidation.
He said the Avon School Board weighed proposals from each of the other districts.
Oakley said the board preferred Abingdon's proposal because it would house the junior high in Avon.
He said, “That certainly is something that the members of our community thought very highly of. That we would be able to keep the current Avon junior-senior school building open.”
Oakley said Avon's building would remain open in the short-term but there is no guarantee if it will remain open long-term.
He said consolidation would relieve crowding at Abingdon's junior-senior high building. Abingdon would house the high school in the consolidated district.
Abingdon's school board has also approved the pursuing the consolidation. Superintendent David Black said the board will hold a special meeting next week to choose five members to serve on a
consolidation committee. Black said this consolidation proposal is “very well grounded.”
Black said the transportation issue will be easier with a two-district consolidation but it's still not simple to plan new bus routes.
Oakley also believes the transportation issues will be easier to resolve since the distances are much shorter in the two-district scenario.
Oakley hopes to put the measure on the November ballot. He said if voters approve the measure the new district would be open for the fall of 2013.
