School board approves three portable classrooms to relieve overcrowding at Purple Sage and house district technology staff

The Middleton School District Board of Trustees voted to order three portable classrooms to relieve overcrowding at Purple Sage Elementary and provide a semi-permanent home for the district technology team.

The board approved the portable purchases after district staff presented cost estimates, site constraints and alternatives including permanent additions. The board’s motion to approve the portable orders passed at a regular meeting where administrators and the district’s technology staff described operational impacts and timing.

District administrators said two dry-portable units (no restrooms) would be placed at Purple Sage to provide roughly four classroom spaces and free the school library and other shared spaces now used as classrooms. A third portable, with restroom facilities in the bid shown to the board, would be sited near the middle school to provide a central location for the technology department and related storage. The vendor’s lead estimated the portables could be installed by January if ordered promptly.

In presenting the item, the superintendent noted that the high school and middle school had reached capacity, and two elementary schools were near capacity. Administrators said the portables are a response to rapid enrollment growth and that earlier plans to move students during the summer were delayed by delivery and siting timing.

Technology staff who addressed the board said their team has moved multiple times since 2021 and that a central, semi‑permanent location would improve morale, allow trainings and consolidate storage and equipment. Ryan Simplesen, identified in the record as lead technician, described how repeated relocations have fragmented the team’s work and said a stable workspace would improve service and internal training.

Board members and the district’s architect explained site constraints at Purple Sage. LKV Architects staff noted Purple Sage sits on a well and septic system and that code updates since the school was constructed mean permanent additions would likely trigger a required reassessment of septic and water capacity and additional restroom requirements. The architect told the board a full permanent addition could exceed $23 million once site upgrades and code-required restroom capacity were included, and therefore recommended portables as a quicker, lower‑cost stopgap.

District staff presented bid totals: one restroom‑included portable bid was shown at about $302,000; the combined bids for three portables (including permitting and installation but excluding some water hookups) were presented as approximately $886,000. Staff noted the vendor bids included permitting and installation but that water hookups and any additional septic/drainfield work would be an extra cost and require separate permitting and engineering.

Board discussion covered restroom access for students in portables, the feasibility and cost of adding an independent drain field or restroom building at sites with many portables, and the tradeoffs between temporary and permanent construction. The architect and staff said adding permanent classrooms to Purple Sage now would likely trigger code upgrades and significant additional expense; portables were presented as the faster option to restore normal library and classroom functions at Purple Sage.

The board moved and approved the portable orders. The motion as recorded in the minutes authorized ordering the portables and proceeding with permitting and site preparations. The motion passed by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting text provided.

Next steps identified by staff: order the portables immediately to meet the vendor’s January delivery estimate; complete water hook-ups where required (water connections were not included in all bids); and continue to evaluate long‑term permanent solutions as enrollment trends and capital funding change.

The board’s approval does not commit funding beyond the quoted bids and site work described; staff said they will return with further detail about hookups and final installation costs if site work requires additional engineering or permitting. The portables are intended as an interim to mid‑term solution while the district continues planning for longer‑term elementary capacity.