Schools will be combined in Eagle-Vail

EAGLE-VAIL - After years of debate, the Eagle County School Board decided Wednesday night to transform the vacant Battle Mountain High Schoo in Eagle-Vail into a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school. The board voted 4-2 to move students from Meadow Mountain and Minturn Middle Schools into the building. Students could move into the Eagle-Vail school as soon as fall 2011, "pending capital funding availability," the board's motion said.Mike Gass, the district's executive director of student and innovative programs, said he would present various options for renovations at the next board meeting. Those options will include a range of price tags, funding plans and timelines for a remodel at the old Battle Mountain High School.Board members said they plan to meet with the Minturn community to discuss repurposing the Minturn Middle School building. The board has not yet decided what to do with the Meadow Mountain Elementary school building after the students move.School Boa