The Franklin Public School District board on April 9 received a progress report on Franklin Forward, the district's referendum-driven construction and capital-improvement program, including stakeholder feedback, early cost estimates and next steps toward the design phase.

District Administrator Dr. Benin and owners' representative Mike Hacker told the board the team has collected roughly 485 Qualtrics responses and is shifting schematic drawings closer to design development so architects and construction managers can refine costs and room-level details. "As design evolves, that budget just evolves into greater and greater detail," Mike Hacker said.

Why it matters: The referendum work includes a major renovation and addition at Franklin High School plus districtwide capital-improvement projects. Early cost choices will determine what the referendum funds can buy and how the district phases work without disrupting the school year.

Design and budget status
- The district said it is moving from schematic design toward design development; architects (PRA) and construction manager CD Smith are producing more detailed room layouts and cost inputs.
- The board was shown early cost ranges for the high school work in the roughly $120 millionto$140 million band; owners and architects are re-costing the schematic packages to see whether the elements under consideration fit the budget.
- Kinions Consulting owner's representative Mike Hacker explained that as drawings get more detailed CD Smith is getting vendor and subcontractor cost estimates (not formal bids). The team plans three overlapping bid packages so early site and foundation work can start while other building work continues through later design phases.
- The project currently includes three contingency buckets: estimating, construction and soft-cost contingencies. Hacker said the estimating and construction contingency buckets currently sit around 8% and will be adjusted as assumptions firm.

Community feedback and priorities
- District staff reported about 485 survey responses from parents, students, alumni and residents. Common themes were a desire for collaborative commons and breakout space, improved career and technical education (CTE) spaces, and safety and accessibility upgrades.
- Staff emphasized the design process will use themes from the coherence plan (engagement, well-being, college-and-career-readiness, fiscal stewardship) to guide allocation of square footage and finish priorities.

Capital-improvement and near-term work
- The district said nearly $11.7 million of referendum-funded capital-improvement work is scheduled for this summer at elementary schools and other district buildings (roof repairs, building-envelope work, ADA upgrades, playground and site improvements). Some summer work will be managed directly by the district rather than through the construction manager, which district staff said can yield savings on routine repairs.
- The district also listed a separate CIP bucket of approximately $21.9 million that it is tracking across smaller districtwide projects. Staff said some CIP items will be assigned into the CD Smith scope where it makes sense for efficiency and to ensure consistent finishes across connected spaces.

Permitting, city collaboration and schedule
- Staff said internal preconstruction, permitting and city approvals are already underway. Topics the district is discussing with the City of Franklin include an access drive at High View Road, conservation easements, local permitting processes, fire-department access, utilities and snow-removal logistics around the site.
- The team is planning to release the first construction bid package (site/footings/foundations) in the AugusttoSeptember window, with additional packages following so construction phases overlap rather than wait for a single, large bid.

Next steps and timeline
- Staff expect design-development materials before the board's next formal quarterly check-in; a possible earlier presentation was suggested for mid-June if design materials are ready. A July 9 quarterly update was scheduled if design is not ready sooner.

Ending: Staff asked the board for flexibility on timing: if full design materials are ready early, they will present them sooner than the next quarterly date so school staff can see what will change before summer work begins.