Blue Grass Baptist School will close at end of 2016-17 school year
Blue Grass Baptist School will close at the end of this school year because of funding problems, according to a letter from the Lexington school’s board of directors.
“The mission of BGBS has always been to provide an affordable Christian education of the highest possible quality. Over the years, the cost of keeping that education of high quality while at the same time keeping it affordable to the families in our school became near impossible, causing us to operate in the red each year. This cycle finally caught up with us this year,” the board said in a letter to “parents and friends” dated Friday.
The board said that projections at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year showed that there would only be enough funding to cover the fall semester.
“This made liquidation of assets a necessity,” the board wrote.
The board said it had announced plans in September to find a new location. A subsequent contract on the property fell through when zoning changes weren’t approved by the city, the board said. The board said it received another offer that was not as high, and on Nov. 30, the board closed on the sale.
The sale provides enough money for the school to finish out this year and to maintain occupancy through June 30. The school will stop operating effective July 31, the letter states.
The school, on Red River Drive, was started in 1969 and offers Kindergarten through 12th grades.
The board said the decision to close was difficult, unanimous and “arrived at only after many hours of consultation and deliberation, many months of investigation and searching for alternate solutions, and much prayer.”
“While it is disheartening that the doors of the school must close, it is a blessing to know that the education, values, relationships and memories shared will be passed on for generations to come,” the letter states. “The mission of BGBS has always been to have, not only an academic impact, but an eternal one as well. In that vein, the legacy of our school will continue.”
Karla Ward: 859-231-3314, @HLpublicsafety
This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Blue Grass Baptist School will close at end of 2016-17 school year."