New $57.8 million school building proposed for Fayette County after pleas from parents

Fayette County Public Schools will ask the school board for approval to build a new $57.8 million building for the Rise STEM Academy for Girls after years of pleading from parents, according to documents released Friday.

The 112,155 square foot building would serve 900 students in K-8 grades.

The proposed new building would be at 2160 Versailles Road, school district spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith told the Herald-Leader.

The Fayette school board voted last year to purchase 35-plus acres of land and a home at 2160 Versailles Road from Lexington developer Dudley Webb’s family. Board chairman Tyler Murphy said the purchase price was $10.1 million. In addition, Webb is making a charitable donation to the school district of $2,338,149, district officials said last year.

The plan is on the agenda for Monday’s upcoming board meeting. Board documents said the project design must begin now in order to complete the building by March 2027.

Since 2020, the program has been in the former Linlee Elementary building on Spurr Road, which parents have repeatedly said is an inadequate space for Rise Academy.

In March, a parent said the school building was in a “dire situation.”

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 4:56 PM.