Board reviews Drew Middle School schematic designs and auditorium options; staff favors flexible forum with telescoping seating

Staff and the project architect presented schematic-design options for the new Drew Middle School (site off Cliff Farm Road), focusing on a performance/assembly space and related trade-offs among cost, flexibility and community use.

Why this matters: the middle school is a major capital project for the division. The team reviewed multiple approaches to a performing space — a conventional purpose-built auditorium, a cafetorium/low-cost option, a glass-enclosed amphitheater in the building core, and a hybrid solution that pairs a forum with the auxiliary gym using telescoping bleachers — and outlined the budgetary and operational consequences of each.

What was presented: the architect described a compact, stacked three-story footprint that concentrates classrooms to minimize site development costs; the program includes art, science, tech and a media center. For performance spaces the options shown were: • Option 1 (baseline/cafetorium): low additional cost but limited acoustics and functionality for formal performances. • Option 2 (separate purpose-built auditorium): high-quality theatrical environment but an estimated multi-million-dollar increase in project cost (architect estimated an order-of-magnitude of several million dollars for a standalone auditorium and additional site/civil work). • Option 3 (glass-covered central amphitheater): an interior, daylighted gathering space that can serve multiple daytime functions and some performances; estimated additional cost smaller than a full auditorium (roughly $2.5M–$3.0M range was discussed as an order-of-magnitude estimate in the presentation materials). • Option 4 (recommended hybrid): integrate a 3,000-square-foot forum adjacent to an auxiliary gym and use telescoping (telescopic) bleachers and a folding partition so the space can be used both for PE and for staged performances; lower incremental cost (architect said this would be in the hundreds of thousands for acoustics/lighting upgrades rather than the multi-million-dollar cost of a stand-alone auditorium).

Board reaction and preferences: board members and the principal-design team discussed trade-offs. Drew Middle School staff said a purpose-built auditorium is desirable; architects and staff explained that the hybrid forum-plus-bleachers design delivers most of the functional assets (audience capacity, staging adjacency to music spaces, the ability to secure the rest of the school during after-hours use) while keeping the project closer to budget. Several board members expressed a preference for the hybrid forum solution as cost-effective and flexible; the board also asked staff to preserve options that could be added later if bid-day savings or additional funding become available (additive alternates vs. built-in components).

Cost and procurement notes: staff said the overall project budget is being managed actively and that recent savings on elementary projects have been reprogrammed in part to the middle-school budget. The presentation noted the division’s current budget estimate and the possible impact of adding a separate auditorium as an alternate if bid savings permit. Board members asked for refined cost estimates, operations impacts (custodial, HVAC and staging costs), and community-use plans prior to committing to a final design.

Next steps: staff will refine schematic design and cost estimates, present preferred options for approval and, if the board directs, identify any add-alter funding path on bid day. The board asked staff to provide estimates for incremental costs (lighting, acoustics, rigging/sound) and for potential future expansion (cold-dark shell or multi-story addition bay) so the division can make an informed add/alternate decision if funds permit.

Ending: the meeting did not authorize a final design; the board signaled support for the hybrid forum/aux-gym option as the likely preferred approach and asked staff and architects to return with refined cost and scope options and the implications for community use and future expansion.