The Buena Vista School Board last Thursday unanimously approved a plan to relocate middle school students to Parry McCluer High School beginning with the 2026-27 school year, marking a major step forward in the city’s longrunning effort to address aging school facilities.
The vote came with little discussion and no public comment during the meeting’s hearing portion, signaling a broad consensus after months of study, presentations and joint meetings with Buena Vista City Council.
The plan calls for sixth and seventh grade students from Parry McCluer Middle School to be relocated to the high school building while longer-term plans to construct an addition, consisting of a gymnatorium and extra spaces, continue to move forward. The School Board and City Council’s Joint Facilities Committee is currently in the financial planning and architect search phases of the construction project.
The relocation decision follows a series of developments over the past several months, including a facilities study conducted with RRMM Architects, which concluded that relocating middle school students to the high school cam- pus, combined with a targeted building addition, would be the most cost-effective option compared with constructing a new standalone school or fully renovating the existing middle school.
Superintendent Heather Ault said the vote represents the culmination of years of discussion and difficult choices for the community.
“It is difficult to fully capture the emotions that come with this decision,” Ault said in an email. “The need to address the aging Parry McCluer Middle School building and ensure our students have access to highquality instructional spaces is something our community has been grappling with for a very long time.”
Ault said the issue has been central to her work since she began her role, requiring “countless hours, deep collaboration across many groups, and more than a few sleepless nights.”
From the outset, she said, the goal was to find a solution that balanced educational quality with financial reality: “Any solution had to do two things well: support strong instruction and opportunities for our students, while also being fiscally responsible and grounded in the most cost-effective approach available.”
Ault also emphasized the necessity for collaboration throughout, saying, “That kind of solution simply cannot happen without the voice, input, and partnership of an entire community.”
Under the plan, middle school students will occupy a designated section of the high school, with separate spaces and schedules intended to maintain a clear distinction between the two schools.
“The middle school students will be located in the back hallway/section of the high school, where they will have dedicated classrooms and office spaces,” Ault said.
Students will have access to their own restrooms, follow a separate class transition schedule and attend a distinct middle school lunch period. The rear portion of the building will serve as a dedicated middle school entrance, with its own reception area staffed by a school security officer and administrative assistant.
The space will also include a counseling office, principal’s office, conference room, nurse’s office and special education resource rooms.
“While both schools will share the same physical building, they will continue to operate as separate schools,” Ault said.
Because permanent renovations will not be completed before the start of the school year, temporary walls and defined spaces will be constructed over the summer to meet immediate needs. That work will be completed through a collaboration involving woodworking students, summer maintenance staff and local contractor Jeremiah Brockenbrough, according to Ault.
The relocation is expected to serve as an interim step as the city and school division continue to develop construction plans, including the proposed addition to the high school and a wood shop on campus.
In recent weeks, officials have begun the process of selecting an architect and evaluating construction delivery methods, with the Construction Manager-at-Risk model emerging as a leading option.
For Ault, the confidence of the Board does a lot more than just prescribe a learning location, or solve a building problem; it shows the town its reflection.
“This decision reflects not just a solution to a longstanding challenge, but the strength of a community that is deeply committed to its schools, its students, and its future,” she said.
