Local couple donates 23 acres to Corbin schools to be used for outdoor classroom

Corbin Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel, above at left, presents Terry and Marion Forcht a plaque in appreciation of their donation to the school district of 23 acres of property adjacent to Corbin High School.

Official paperwork was signed last week making 23 acres adjacent to Corbin High School officially part of the school district, and it will be used to expand the school’s outdoor classroom.

Terry and Marion Forcht were honored last Thursday by Corbin Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel for their gift of the property. The parcel consists of most of a large hill behind the high school track facility, and baseball and softball fields.

“We are going to be able to extend that property and extend our outdoor classroom and that’s what makes it exciting for us,” McNeel said. “With the high school kids, the steeper it is and the rougher it is, the more they enjoy it.”

Terry Forcht is the founder of Forcht Group of Kentucky — a conglomeration of many companies specializing in banking and financial services, insurance, nursing homes and health care, broadcasting and print media, retail, data and Web design services, real estate and construction. It employs roughly 2,100 people. Forcht serves as Chairman and CEO of the corporation, which has headquarters in Corbin and Lexington.

The couple was presented with a special plaque, following a signing of legal paperwork transferring the property, with an inscription that reads: “The members of the Corbin Board of Education extend appreciation for your valued support for helping kids in our community.”

Terry Forcht said he always wanted to see the property put to some useful purpose, and he’s happy the school district has something in mind.

“We are glad the property went to good use. We had hopes that it would. We are very appreciative that you accepted it and found a use for it,” Mr. Forcht told McNeel.

Ann Hale, a science teacher at Corbin High School, has been put in charge of the expansion of the outdoor classroom.