School facilities update: Tri-campus additions to Diamond Springs and Newtown move toward construction, targeting Aug. 2028 move-in

School division facility staff presented a detailed update on the Tri Campus additions for Diamond Springs and Newtown elementary schools, telling the board that construction mobilization will begin this summer and the district expects a move-in target of August 2028.

Melissa Ingram, executive director in the Office of Facility Services, described the scope: the Diamond Springs addition is roughly 7,400 square feet (producing a total campus footprint of about 105,000 sq ft when complete) to serve a planned population of roughly 550 pre-K–1 students; Newtown’s addition is about 22,300 square feet to accommodate roughly 740 students in grades 2–5 and bring that campus to roughly 113,000 sq ft. Ingram said both schools — built within the last 20 years — were designed for flexible reconfiguration and that construction will be phased to minimize classroom disruptions.

The presentation included classroom counts, support-room allocations and planned small resource rooms for reading, math and special education services. At Diamond Springs, four core classrooms in the addition and multiple reconfigured interior spaces are planned; several existing rooms (including Room 43) will be unavailable to students from July 2026 until January 2027 while tie-in work occurs. At Newtown, fourteen core classrooms will be added along with resource rooms and an interior courtyard serving as an outdoor learning space.

Ingram outlined infrastructure work: electrical and stormwater upgrades, HVAC improvements (including a future central chiller at Newtown scheduled for winter–spring 2027), expanded Wi‑Fi and a new dedicated data room at Newtown to support additional classrooms. She said site work and playground impacts are accounted for: Diamond Springs’ playground will be replaced in winter 2027 because it is at the end of its service life; Newtown’s playground is not expected to be impacted. Security improvements include upgraded interior and exterior cameras and continued assignment of 2 security assistants plus a school resource officer for the tri-campus zone.

Board members asked about swing spaces, what programs currently occupy rooms to be taken offline, accessibility of new playground equipment for special education students and timing of construction entrances. Ingram said staff had met with administrators and planned swing spaces to minimize instructional disruption, that some rooms would be offline July 2026–Jan 2027, and that playground replacement would be timed to reduce impacts where possible. She announced a plan to return with an update after construction begins and said a groundbreaking ceremony is anticipated in September or October 2026.

Next steps noted in the presentation: continued stakeholder communication, a fall 2026 update after project start and campus-renaming discussions at a July 2026 school board retreat. The division emphasized phased schedules to limit noisy or dangerous work during student drop-off/pickup and said interior work would be scheduled in summers to minimize classroom disruption.

The board did not take a formal vote on the project at the meeting; Ingram said procurement and contracting work (including bids and contractor coordination) is ongoing as staff prepare for construction.