Will plans for Lexington’s new middle school ‘languish’? Action required for 2024 opening.

If Fayette school board members don’t rebid Lexington’s postponed new middle school by February, it won’t open by August 2024.

That’s a concern for board member Tom Jones, who at the most recent school board meeting, raised questions about not moving forward this month or next.

“Will we just let this matter languish and not reconsider the construction of this building in time for it to open in 2024 by doing nothing in January and February?” Jones said at the Dec. 13 meeting.

A divided board postponed the long-awaited project on Polo Club Boulevard in late 2021 due to significantly increased construction costs.

The school had been set to open in 2023.

Fayette chief operating officer Myron Thompson said at the school board meeting that possible scenarios include the board rebidding the project in January and having it open August 2024; rebidding in July and having it open in January 2025; rebidding it in January 2023 and having it open in August 2025; or rebidding it in July 2023 and having it open in August 2026.

Typical timelines for a project of the middle school’s size are between 18 to 24 months, but that does not take into account that in today’s market, materials may not be shipping on time, Thompson said.

In November, the Fayette County school board postponed indefinitely the proposed new $70.5 million middle school on Polo Club Boulevard after costs rose from $47.2 million.

For the November vote, the board was divided 3-2. Board chairman Tyler Murphy and board members Amy Green and Christy Morris voted to table the project. Stephanie Spires and Tom Jones voted against the postponement, citing the district’s current overcrowded middle schools.

If a new middle school does not open by August 2025, existing schools will have to be redistricted to redistribute enrollment among available other middle school buildings, according to a staff presentation.

The school district can finance the new middle school and some other proposed projects assuming the Fayette County Public Schools property assessment growth approaches historical norms, Thompson said.

Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said financial advisors could help weigh in on the decision to move forward with the new middle school at any time and if they think its a great time to rebid, he will let the board know. District staff continues to monitor construction costs and will alert the board to changes, Murphy said.

The newest middle school building in the district is currently Edythe J. Hayes Middle School, which opened in August 2004. Since then, major renovations were completed at at least four other middle schools.

Thompson said that Paul Laurence High School, built in 1991, is now eligible for a major $73.4 million renovation. No date was given at the Dec. 13 meeting for when that could begin.