Catawba County Schools studies shifting sixth grade to middle schools as part of $750M facilities plan

Catawba County Schools staff presented a logistics study that would shift sixth-grade students into middle schools, phase building projects and use redistricting and temporary modulars to address rapid enrollment growth and capacity shortfalls, a staff member said.

The study, described during a district briefing, frames moving sixth graders into existing middle-school buildings as a way to free space at elementary schools without immediate major construction. A staff member leading the presentation said the district’s full framework — including middle- and high-school equity projects and several elementary additions — carries an approximate current price tag of $750,000,000.

The move to middle schools is intended to avoid or delay many elementary additions by using existing capacity in middle-school buildings, several presenters said. The presentation noted the district has 16 K–5 buildings with “just over 10,700 seats” and described a phased approach that would buy time while new housing developments produce students. Staff said projections show a five-year window in which immediate capacity planning will be most critical and that a longer 10‑year horizon will require…