The Portage Township School Board gave final approval Monday to a $13.6 million bond to build a new middle school, razing both Aylesworth Elementary School and Willowcreek Middle School.
It will be the district’s first new school in nearly 40 years. The newest is Portage High School, which opened in 1979. Willowcreek served as the high school until the current high school at U.S. 6 and Airport Road opened.
The debt is structured in a way aimed at avoiding a tax increase, replacing existing debt as it is paid off.
The project calls for razing Aylesworth first, then building a new middle school on that site and razing Willowcreek next door when the new middle school is ready to be occupied. Both schools are on Central Avenue at Willowcreek Road.
No one spoke at Monday’s public hearing on the issue.
Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said the project is in the design and development stage now with bids expected to be sought this fall.
Replacing Willowcreek means addressing aging infrastructure, upgraded classrooms and technology that meet modern standards, and improving common areas.
When the new school is completed, it will become the district’s only middle school, housing students in grades 7 and 8. Those students will have the opportunity to take STEM and career and technical education courses as well as high school classes.
The current Fegely Middle School will become an intermediate school for grades 5 and 6.
Razing Aylesworth will mean the district will go from eight to seven elementary schools, which shouldn’t be a problem with enrollment declining.
The board recently took actions to address that decline, including an initial step toward open enrollment for the youngest students with the hope that students who live outside the district and attend kindergarten in Portage will stay in the district’s schools and ultimately graduate from Portage High School.
A virtual school also will open this fall to serve high school students from Northwest Indiana. Those students will be able to enter Portage High School through a separate door to interact with faculty members for advice or to do their coursework at the school.
With the elimination of Aylesworth, the district plans to redistrict to rebalance school and class sizes throughout the district.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
