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Site of new high school may be announced tonight

September 30, 2008|Katheran Wasson

Today could be the day Clark County residents find out the location of their new high school, slated to open for 1,700 students in 2011.

Rumors have swirled about the school's proposed site, but the Clark County Board of Education hasn't announced the location to the public. Board members were still considering three properties in July, but began to move forward with one identified only as "Property A."

The state-required construction form for the project indicates the site is 88 acres. Experts appraised and surveyed the site, and engineers conducted preliminary geotechnical exploration in the last month.

Board members will also conduct the superintendent's annual evaluation today in closed session, a common practice that came under scrutiny this summer when a Spencer County Board of Education member filed a complaint with the state Attorney General.

Attorney General Jack Conway ruled in August that superintendents' evaluations must be conducted in open meetings, a decision that the Spencer County Board of Education has since appealed.

A call to the Attorney General's office for clarification of the ruling was not returned by press time.

According to its meeting agenda, the Clark County Board of Education will consider or take action on changes to the superintendent's evaluation procedures. The item is scheduled for consideration after the superintendent's evaluation is conducted.

The Kentucky School Boards Association expressed concern with the Attorney General's decision, citing on its Web site a loss of "critical frankness and specificity" if board members are being quoted in the newspaper or for broadcast on TV news. The opinion could also affect city managers, university presidents and executives hired by governmental bodies, the KSBA site states.

The 2009 working budget is also on the agenda.

The school board meets at 6:30 p.m.

Contact Katheran Wasson at kwasson@winchestersun.com.

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