A revised West Vigo school plan could save $30 million to $40 million, but no decision has been made

Consultants from Gibraltar Design told the Vigo County Oversight Board that a reworked plan for the district's west-side schools — turning Fayette Elementary into a pre-K through 2nd grade building, Sugar Creek Elementary into an upper elementary school, and combining West Vigo Middle and High School into one 7th-through-12th-grade building — could cut the school corporation's total cost of modernizing (renovating or rebuilding) all of its buildings by an estimated $30 million to $40 million over the next 15 to 20 years, compared with the option presented earlier this year.

The presentation also covered turning Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South — the district's two current high schools — into middle schools once a new high school opens elsewhere; consultants said doing that construction while the buildings sit empty, with no students or staff inside, is faster and cheaper than renovating around them.

School officials said the revised West Vigo option went to the school board on Monday with no decision made yet, and that the school corporation is waiting to see what the oversight board and county decide before it moves forward.