District presents middle school design, schedule and $131.5M program financing

Design and construction teams updated the North Little Rock School District board on the new middle school campus, describing the project's phasing, safety features, near-term construction milestones and financing.

Taggart Architects walked the board through campus organization and safety design: the plan places a two-story seventh/eighth-grade building and a two-story sixth-grade building linked by a large porch that creates a single, secure point of entry. James Meyer described circulation and classroom organization, color-coded corridors for wayfinding and a secure vestibule with industry-standard "child guard" ballistic glazing at the main entry. "We have this large community porch that connects the two buildings...so all of our students come together in a nice place," Meyer said. He also described security doors that are normally held open and will close on a fire or security alarm.

Construction representativ…