Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the proposed site for Liberty Academy of Columbus in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, May 4, 2023.
A new private school has pushed its opening day back by about two weeks.
Liberty Academy of Columbus, which school officials previously said would open Aug. 9, has moved its start date to Aug. 21 to “best prepare for our students and teachers,” said school head Victor “JR” Huff.
Additionally, there appears to be some uncertainty around where the school will be located.
School officials previously sought and received a use variance from the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals to locate the academy at 101 National Road in Columbus Township, which is zoned for Industrial: Light. The board approved the request in late May.
When asked about the status of building preparations, Huff said that the school was planning to use a different site for its initial launch.
“We’re looking to enter into a short-term facilities usage agreement with a local church to basically use some of their space to launch while we’re waiting for the preparation of 101 (National Road),” he said. “We are really happy to be able to be a blessing to them, and we are happy that they’re also able to help and give us a foothold as we get started.”
Huff said he was not at liberty to disclose the name of the church as the agreement was still under attorney review.
When asked if Liberty Academy still planned to use the National Road facility as a school eventually, he said that was still the plan. He was unsure how long they would be at the temporary location due to factors such as construction schedules and legal steps that would need to be taken at the National Road property.
However, Huff later told The Republic, “After our conversation the other day I realized that we still have a very fluid situation with our facility and would prefer that it wasn’t included in any discussion about Liberty at this time. I may have a different answer for you next week, but for right now I would like any discussion about 101 (National Road) omitted from a story.”
The City of Columbus – Bartholomew County Planning Department’s staff report had indicated that even with variance approval, there would be more work to do before the National Road facility was ready to open as a school.
Per the report, code enforcement officials said that the proposed use of the site — Group E, Educational — is considered a change of use of the structure under the Indiana Building Code.
“Due to that, a filing is required with the State Fire and Building Services Plan Review Department,” officials wrote. “The structure is required to meet the current building code requirements for the new Group E occupancy. The filing is commonly done by a design professional such as an architect or structural engineer after an evaluation of the building by that person. This would be done after the use variance outcome from the BZA is known.”
Columbus City Utilities wrote in its comments on the request that if Liberty wants to use the existing building as a school, the department will require the septic tank effluent system to be replaced with a grinder pump system.
Additionally, Huff said in a previous interview that the school planned to do a full interior renovation and extend the drive around the building for one-way traffic during pick-up and drop-off. Liberty’s variance application also stated that the building is “in need of repair.”
Huff said in early May that the school was seeking a three-year lease with the property owner, who was also expected to make some improvements.
The National Road property isn’t the first site school officials looked at as a potential location. Liberty Academy previously applied for variances to locate the school in an office/warehouse building at 1460 Jackson St., which is located in the Industrial: General zoning district and within a special flood hazard area.
The board of zoning appeals denied both requests in late February.
At the time, school officials said that they had an agreement with Blessed Life Fellowship, located in the nearby Roviar Building, that would allow students to evacuate to the church in the event of a flood.
As of July 26, about 40 students had enrolled at Liberty Academy, said Huff.
The school’s website states that while Liberty’s “ultimate goal” is to offer grades K-12, school officials expect to open with K-7 “in order to cultivate the culture necessary for a proper classical education.”
Additionally, the site states that Liberty Academy will be a private, non-parochial school with no religious or political affiliations.
