School district buying property for new junior high

(Murray Journal) Steps are being taken toward constructing a new junior high school in Murray.

Thirteen houses on Hillside Street have been purchased by Murray School District in hopes of building a new junior high building in about five years, said Pat O’Hara, Murray School District director of support services.

“We’ve known for a good number of years that Hillcrest is aging, so we started the long-term process of replacing the school,” O’Hara said. “We’ve been looking for a location because we don’t like a junior high being on State Street.”

About 18 months ago, O’Hara became aware of eight houses for sale on Hillside Drive, which runs parallel with State Street, just east of Hillcrest.

“They were all owned by the same person who had some commercial idea in mind, but then decided not to go through with it,” he said. “So I took it to the board (Murray School Board of Education) and that began the long-term buying process.”

Original Article