An official with the city of Springfield once said some property at Campbell and Division had promise for housing a new Pipkin Middle School.
That promise panned out — eventually.
Springfield Public Schools on Friday announced it had entered into contract with the General Council of the Assemblies of God for 8.86 acres at Campbell and Division streets, extending southward to Lynn Avenue.
Pending a 180-day period of due diligence to research details about the property, it will become the new home of Pipkin Middle school, only a few blocks from its current location.
The Springfield Board of Education agreed to the contract with a unanimous vote. The purchase price has not yet been disclosed.
The announcement caps off a more than yearlong struggle to find enough land in a well-developed part of the city to build a modern, updated middle school similar to the recently constructed Jarrett Middle School.
“The search for the right location presented unique challenges, as it is extremely difficult to identify and secure a large parcel of land in the central part of an established community,” said Superintendent Grenita Lathan in a press release. “Ultimately, however, we are incredibly pleased with the outcome. This location allows us to honor the recommendations presented by the Community Task Force on Facilities and to acknowledge the feedback from stakeholders who preferred that the new school remain in Midtown.”
The demolition of existing buildings, site preparation and construction is expected to take two years.
The news was shared Friday with members of the Pipkin community.
“We are close enough to our new home to watch the progress as construction begins,” said Principal Duane Cox. “The possibilities for Pipkin are limitless and we are so thankful to the community, the Board of Education and our administration for investing in the future for our students.”
Search for school a struggle
The news comes two days after the district broke ground for a new Reed Academy. Late last year, the district made the decision to convert Pershing into a middle school, and will close its elementary at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
The three middle school projects were part of a $220 million bond issue that voters approved overwhelmingly in 2023.
But a search for land suitable enough in Pipkin’s sending zone proved challenging and controversial.
One early idea called for building at Nichols Park, and according to email records obtained by the Hauxeda, was viewed with excitement by city officials. But details about building limitations on land that received federal funding for parks caused the plan to fall through only weeks before election day in 2023.
School officials scrambled, and less than a week before the election, announced a deal to purchase land at East Pythian Street near Highway 65, far east of the current location. That location proved unpopular with the community and city officials — the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a rezoning request over concerns of limited access. The district walked away from the deal in August.
A familiar find
The school district has explored the possibility of this site before. According to records obtained by the Daily Citizen, the site was floated as promising by Tim Rosenbury, director of Quality of Place Initiatives for the city of Springfield. Rosenbury is a former president of the school board.
In an email dated Sept. 14, 2022, Rosenbury wrote that city officials had discussed the status of several properties of which the Assemblies of God was studying for long-term use, and whether they could be considered surplus:
- The former Campbell United Methodist Church at Division and Campbell.
- Two apartment buildings facing Campbell and Hovey streets.
- A Health Care Ministries building at 521 E. Lynn.
- A four-story warehouse (the former Assemblies of God Publishing House) at 1429 N. Campbell Ave.
Rosenbury in that email pitched the possibility of stripping the warehouse to the frame on the existing foundation, and demolishing the other buildings.
Stephen Hall, spokesperson for the district, said that the plan now calls for demolishing existing buildings on the property and building a fresh middle school.
While details have not yet been exactly decided, Hall said building plans that were designed for a new middle school on East Pythian Street can be placed on the Campbell and Division site. Those plans called for a 114,750-square-foot building and athletic center to house about 550 students.
More than $53 million in bond money has been budgeted for the new school.
Pipkin in need
Of the three middle schools in 2023’s Proposition S — and of the district’s nine middle schools — Pipkin is arguably the most in need, according to a district assessment of its buildings.
Pipkin Middle School is housed in a 99-year-old building at 1215 N. Boonville Ave.
It is not ADA-accessible, and features a labyrinthine construction that does not lend itself to allowing students to make smooth transitions between classes. Its footprint is contained in a 3.07-acre site that is surrounded by other developments.
The basement classrooms flood sometimes, and the smells from previous floods hang in the air. The school has only two sets of restrooms among its four floors, requiring the use of bathroom-specific breaks.
Of the district’s nine middle schools, Pipkin Middle School’s student population is the most diverse. About 78% of its population qualify for free and reduced-price meals. It houses about 580 students in sixth through eighth grade, as well as more than 60 staff members.
It is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years World School, part of a program that offers challenging courses that connect students to real-world issues. It also has been named an at-risk school, and is part of a partnership with Yale University and Drury University known as the Comer Project, a system that helps increase parent involvement and boost teacher development.
