Bedford schedules May groundbreaking for new middle school; K–2 primary construction to follow

An operations speaker described progress on the district’s capital program funded by the bond voters approved in November 2022.

The speaker said architects have substantially completed designs for the first two new buildings. The new middle school will be built on the former Channel High School property across the street from the existing campus; its design separates bus and car traffic and places bus entry near the auditorium and gym for controlled arrival and dismissal.

A new K–2 primary school will be located in Bedford Heights behind the existing Heskett Middle School; the primary building will contain a kindergarten wing and a two-story first/second-grade wing (site constraints required two levels). The speaker said bus traffic for the primary school will use a dedicated drive from Columbus Road and vehicular traffic will use Perkins to reduce congestion.

Groundbreaking for the new middle school was scheduled for a Saturday in May with a related distinguished-alumni reception at noon. The speaker said a new high school is slated to begin construction next summer and that a future third-through-fifth-grade building is expected to be funded largely by the state’s expedited local partnership program, which may provide up to about $33 million.

“ We haven’t built a new building in this district since the 1960s,” the speaker said, and described design features such as three academic wings, natural light, and automatic doors that can close for lockdown or fire separation.

Why it matters: New facilities affect student learning environments, traffic patterns, construction schedules and long-term capital budgets. The program is the largest facility investment the district has made in decades.

Ending: Officials invited the community to the May groundbreaking and a related alumni reception.