Career Academy outlines plan for former Clay High School if building is sold

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After years of a complicated legal battle, a judge ordered Tuesday for South Bend Community School Corporation to sell the former Clay High School building to Career Academy of South Bend.

The ruling reverses an earlier decision in February that allowed the district to retain control of the property.

The school corporation is now reviewing its legal options, including whether to appeal the decision. SBCSC met Thursday, but a decision what not made. Vice President Carlos Leyva tells ABC57 the agenda for the meeting was to discuss what an appealing process would look like, but a decision will be made Monday.

If the transition moves forward, Career Academy CEO Jeremy Lugbill says the organization hopes to use its current building for middle school students and move its high school to the former Clay High School property.

"We have waitlists here, and because we struggle with facilities, students can't come here, so this will allow us to have a middle school campus here," Lugbill says.

The move would be years away, with a transition likely happening during the 2028-2029 academic year. While renovation and relocation costs are still unknown, Lugbill says he will stay in communication with Superintendent Mansour Eid.

Right now, some athletic programs are run out of Clay High school, as well as CTE programming, but the CEO says they want to keep disruptions to a minimum.

"I know we are going to do anything we can to have minimal disruption to CTE programming [and] athletic programs. If all of this goes as planned, Career Academy wouldn't even be over there until 2028-2029. So, we are still a year and a half away from operating a school there."

The South Bend School Board will meet Monday to decide whether to sell the school to Career Academy or appeal it.