School officials, commissioners debate new middle school costs after steep site-work estimates

School officials and county staff described progress on a proposed Jackson County middle school and the financing questions that have emerged after recent contractor estimates increased projected site-preparation costs.

School staff said the district secured a state grant and that the county has allocated funds, but design and contractor teams presented higher-than-expected site costs to prepare a mountainous site. "There are process numbers — one firm threw out a $31 million site-work figure as a worst case," a school official said; county staff later said improved information has reduced the estimate but that the board still faces a projected shortfall on the order of tens of millions without additional funding.

Commissioners debated timing and scope for any bond referendum. Some argued for a staged approach that asks voters only for the middle school priority the school board set; others urged considering a larger consolidated bond for multiple deferred projects, noting political and affordability trade-offs for taxpayers in different parts of the county.

School officials emphasized that the grant was awarded in part because the middle-school design includes career and technical education (CTE) classrooms — classes the district says many students lack under the current K–8 configuration. They also said programmatic staffing would largely come from reassigning existing teachers rather than hiring an entirely new faculty for a new campus.

County and school staff said they expect firmer contractor pricing in the next several weeks and will return with updated guaranteed maximum-price proposals before the board decides whether to place a referendum before voters.