Buckeye Valley board weighs $18.7M–$20M middle school addition to relieve overcrowding

The Buckeye Valley Board of Education discussed a proposed 38,666-square-foot addition to the district middle school that administrators say would allow the district to move fifth grade into the building and relieve overcrowding at the elementary schools.

The architect and owner’s representative presented a conceptual design that increased the planned addition from about 30,000 square feet to 38,666 square feet and estimated the project cost at roughly $18.7 million to about $20 million, an increase the owner’s rep said builds in additional contingency to avoid surprises.

Why it matters: Enrollment growth has stretched classroom capacity across the district, and board members said they want a solution that avoids placing long-term modular classrooms on elementary sites. Administration proposed using district-held construction reserves — the board has been setting aside $5 million annually — and self-financing the project so it would not require an immediate tax levy.

Administrators and board members described the addition as a temporary-to-intermediate solution that would free elementary classrooms in the near term and could be repurposed later if the district builds a new high school.

Dr. Gallatin, who led the presentation on building logistics, summarized the student-growth pressure in the middle grades: “I gave everybody a quick rundown just of where we are and what we’re looking at.” He told the board the middle school’s enrollment rose from about 461 when he arrived in 2020 to about 608 at present, and he said the school could reach roughly 730 students next year.

Board members debated the trade-offs. Supporters said the addition would avoid the security and operational challenges of long-term trailers and would give staff time to plan a future high-school solution. Opponents and cautious members said the board has no guarantee a future bond or levy would pass, and they questioned whether committing the district’s reserves to a building project now would weaken the community’s appetite for a later operating levy or bond for a new high school.

A number of board members urged stronger community outreach and clearer long-range planning before making a final commitment. Several members said a facilities advisory committee and a levy working group should be reconstituted so the public could review options before the district asks voters for new money. Administrators said staff have already assessed multiple alternatives — including modular classrooms and adding to elementary buildings — and reported those had impractical trade-offs for commons spaces and operations.

Administrators also said buying a middle-school addition now would not eliminate the need for a future high school if growth continues; the addition is intended as a stopgap that provides several years of relief and flexibility.

Board direction and next steps: Administrators asked for authorization to proceed with interviews of construction-manager-at-risk (CMR) firms and architects (requests for qualifications and interviews). Several board members supported moving forward with CMR interviews so the district could get schedule estimates and pricing, while others asked staff to return with a clearer multi-year facilities vision that shows how the middle-school addition would fit with longer-term high-school plans.

The board did not approve construction contracts at the meeting; members said the schematic design, timeline and a formal budget would come back for later action.