The Estill County Board of Education on March 20 approved a package of actions to begin site work on a new middle school, including engaging a financial adviser, authorizing about $890,000 in general obligation bonds and advertising the early site bid package.

The actions, approved by unanimous votes, fund work to clear outstanding project closeouts (BG-5s) and pay for an early site contract so crews can begin earthmoving and blasting while building design continues. Bond counsel and the district’s design team told the board the plan is intended to speed the project while addressing a challenging subsurface condition at the site.

Derek Phillips, the architect of record for the middle school project, told the board the district will “break the project basically apart and we’re going to try to get the site moving first while we continue to design the building.” The board approved the overall site design and the early site bid package to allow contractor pricing and to begin clearing and blasting work as soon as the resulting contracts and permits are in place.

Engineers described the site as affected by pyritic, expansive soils that have caused movement at nearby structures. Logan Sams, the project’s structural engineer, said the team will limit how long disturbed soils are exposed, “cap it, seal it, and minimize the amount of expanse that we’re going to see,” and add a void-box buffer that will leave about a 12-inch crawl space between the slab and native soil. Sams added the team cannot guarantee zero movement but intends the buffer and foundation system to reduce the risk of damage similar to what the district has seen at the existing middle school.

Steve Baker, the civil engineer on the team, told the board the site grading will move about 650,000 cubic yards of material (roughly a million tons) as part of creating a balanced site and room for practice fields and auxiliary parking. The design includes phased excavation, concrete coating within 24 hours of exposures, a four-foot clay cap above the concrete, void boxes, and drilled, filled piers tied into grade beams to limit differential movement.

Bond counsel David B. Malone of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC summarized the financing and said the board is using newly authorized school general obligation authority to issue bonds backed by the district’s levy. Malone told the board the approach is expected to yield a lower interest rate than prior lease-style financings and said the resolution was drafted “within the context of the district’s existing tax rates; it is not requiring you to levy new taxes.” The resolution authorizes the issuance of up to $890,000 in general obligation bonds, subject to an increase of up to $90,000 or a decrease if needed.

The board set a quick timeline: bonds were described as scheduled to be sold on April 2 with closing about three weeks later if market conditions and approvals proceed, and the district’s early site bid package is planned for advertisement with a bid date of April 22. The design team said the initial early site work schedule is about five months, with major excavation and blasting expected to happen before school resumes in the fall schedule if bids come in within budget.

Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized monitoring and oversight. The design team said geotechnical monitoring will continue, and the district said structural engineers will review conditions after blasting or major earthwork. The board also discussed contingencies to relocate practices and extracurricular activity use of school fields if site work or blasting schedules conflict with summertime athletics.

Votes at a glance: all motions below carried by unanimous 5-0 votes during the March 20 meeting.

• Engagement with Baird to serve as financial adviser for the sale of District Series 2025 general obligation bonds: approved (motion made/seconded; vote 5-0).

• Resolution authorizing issuance of approximately $890,000 Estill County Board of Education General Obligation Bonds, Series 2025 (subject to permitted adjustment): approved (motion made/seconded; vote 5-0).

• Approval of the overall site design and base plan for the new middle school site: approved (motion made/seconded; vote 5-0).

• Approval to advertise for bid — Bid Package #1 (early site package) with planned bid date April 22: approved (motion made/seconded; vote 5-0).

Next steps: the district will proceed with advertising the early site bid package, continue coordination with the Kentucky Department of Education on the design submissions, monitor geotechnical performance during site work and proceed with the bond sale timeline if market conditions hold. The board and staff said they will provide further updates as bids and KDE review comments are resolved.