“We have some cinderblock going up ... all of our footers have been poured, and the electrical, water and sewer lines are in the ground. Everything underneath is connected,” Roberts said. “We made a lot of progress over the winter — more than was originally scheduled — so we are probably a little ahead of schedule right now."
The district’s new middle school, projected at over 150,000 square feet, is located next to the new Fairborn High School on Commerce Center Boulevard.
The middle school is the fourth and last of Fairborn’s school buildings to be completely redone. After voters approved a 2016 tax issue to leverage state funds, the district built and opened the new Primary School in 2020 and Intermediate School in 2022. Then, voters approved a 5.83-mill bond issue in 2020 to pay for the new high school, arts center and athletics complex in conjunction with Ohio Facilities Construction Commission funding.
The new $60 million middle school will serve more than 1,000 students in grades 6-8 when it opens in summer 2027, according to the district.
“I think it’s monumental for the students and the staff and the community, to be proud to have excellent facilities in a market, at a time, when sometimes that’s tough,” Roberts said. “We’re very, very fortunate and very proud of the support and the trust that the community gave, and we’re going to do our best to be good stewards of that.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The district also presented its five-year roadmap to the community this week, focused on developing well-rounded students “ready for college, career and life.”
One of the main goals is increasing career tech opportunities for kids throughout their education in the district, with opportunities to explore career paths as low as grade 6, and to have one selected by a student’s freshman year of high school.
“This isn’t just a collection of lofty ideas to sit on a shelf,” said Superintendent Amy Gayheart. “We are giving you and ourselves the tools to track our progress and tell exactly how we are delivering on our promise to our children.”
Other goals include increasing attendance, improving fiscal accountability through published annual reports and implementing the district’s “Portrait of a Skyhawk,” which outlines what skills students will have by the time they graduate.
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