Estill County board advances new middle school planning after $5 million SFCC award

The Estill County Board of Education on Sept. 19 approved issuing requests for proposals for construction management and architecture to advance planning for a new middle school after the district secured a $5,000,000 award to begin design and site preparation.

Superintendent Brock told the board the SFCC award had been received and was on deposit. "We did, secure from SFCC the $5,000,000, and I think it hit our account today, Angie," he said, describing the funding as emergency money to start planning. Board members voted to authorize RFPs for an architect and a construction manager and to proceed with site-prep and design activities.

The district plans to run the architect RFP through late September and follow with interviews; construction-management RFPs will be issued for two weeks, the superintendent said. Structural engineers, he added, will continue to monitor the existing middle school while students remain there "as long as it’s safe." The superintendent emphasized that the RFP steps are design- and planning-stage actions and that future construction would depend on further approvals and funding.

Why it matters: the award provides immediate capital to move from concept to design and site work, enabling the district to hire consultants, evaluate sites and prepare cost estimates ahead of any construction contract. Board members said they were eager to move forward but did not approve borrowing or construction contracts at the meeting.

Next steps: the district will complete the architect and construction-manager procurement processes and return to the board with recommendations for hire and any contract terms requiring board approval.