New middle school price tag to be unveiled Thursday

The Concord School Board looks up at the two site plans for the Rundlett Middle School at the opening of the meeting on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. The board voted to build the new school on the Broken Ground School site.
Published: 06-03-2024 9:30 AM |
An updated cost estimate for Concord’s proposed new middle school is in the final days of development and will be presented on Thursday.
When the school board meets on Monday, it is expected to give an update on the project and lay out a process to review a final schematic design with that new estimate laid out.
The districts’ architects and pre-construction contractor have each developed individual estimates and are working to reconcile the differences, the district announced Friday.
As scheduled, the board and its building committee, which has met several times this spring to review and tweak designs presented by architects HMFH, will convene on Thursday to discuss the new estimate, the first since the district submitted a $176 million price tag as part of its application for state building aid in 2022. It will also be the first complete estimate developed for the controversial Broken Ground location selected last year. Architects will present a proposed design alongside different facility options — like how many sports fields should be included and how large the auditorium and gym should be — and corresponding costs for those options.
Community question and answer sessions on the project are inked on the calendar for June 11 at Mill Brook elementary and June 18 at Concord High School. The board and building committee will meet again on June 20 and a final ceiling budget for construction, if approved by the board, is expected to be set in mid-July.
At its meeting on Monday, the board will also review a monthly finance report, proposed updates to its restraint and seclusion policy, teaching and administrative nominations and coaches for fall sports.