District project managers and the design team presented the new middle school design and site plan and summarized schedule and budget planning for the board.

The design team said the building is planned to serve grades 5–8 with capacity for 950 students and design provisions to add about 320–340 additional seats in the future. The building footprint is about 54,800 square feet; a separate concession and restroom support building is roughly 4,500 square feet. The full site is about 46.5 acres; the immediate school development uses roughly 25 acres.

Designers reported traffic work and coordination with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). To accommodate the state highway frontage (State Road 62), the recommended vehicular access pattern is a right‑in/right‑out entrance on the front roadway and a secondary entrance at the rear of the property. The team noted a drainage swale south of the football field that influenced where the secondary access could be placed and said the chosen secondary entrance avoids culvert work across that drain.

The building plan places major volumes (two gymnasiums, cafeteria with stage, performing arts spaces) along a strong circulation axis. The plan separates bus and parent drop‑off: buses will align at the front entrance, while parent drop‑off will occur on the side with stacking space large enough to hold more than 200 cars on the property. The site plan includes athletic facilities (football/soccer field, six tennis courts, a competition gym and a 6‑lane synthetic track option) and notes the district is considering synthetic turf for the field because the incremental cost was not large compared with an upgraded natural field.

Designers described restroom planning as a hybrid approach: traditional multi‑stall bathrooms in academic wings plus about a dozen single‑stall, private bathrooms adjacent to the gym complex.

On schedule and financing, staff said a current project estimate is in the tens of millions (presentation referenced an overall estimate near $85,000,000 for the near‑term plan) and that major players (construction manager, estimator) have been engaged to refine cost estimates. Staff said construction likely will begin in late fall of next year or early spring, contingent on final budget, site preparations and bond disbursements, and noted the district will later bring resolution and bond paperwork through its bond counsel when disbursements are needed.

Board members and the design team discussed community access to athletic facilities, parking, lighting and plans to stage construction to avoid a sudden tax impact. Staff said final decisions about turf, track surfacing and community access policies remain to be made and will be presented to the board.