CUSD 200 lays out accelerated, three‑phase plan for middle school renovations and additions

CUSD 200 trustees on Jan. 22 heard an accelerated schedule and design update for capital projects at the district's three middle schools from district staff and the project architect.

The district will deliver the work in three main bid issuances: issuance 1 (summer 2025) for enabling work and about 30 classroom renovations at Monroe; issuance 2 (summer 2026) for building additions and related site work; and issuance 3 (summer 2026–2027) for the bulk of construction, with contingency work potentially extending into 2028, Mike Dolter, senior project architect with Perkins and Will, told the board. “The plan right now is for the work to be complete by the end of summer 2027,” Dolter said.

The board was shown a Gantt‑style schedule and told the team has accelerated portions of design and procurement so that the first summer of construction (2025) can proceed on enabling and early packages. Dolter said the team developed prototype classrooms at Monroe to test furniture and technology and will use district user groups to collect feedback before rolling those solutions out more broadly.

Design changes presented to the board removed two small building additions…