Published: May 09, 2008 07:51 am            

B. Michael Caudill Middle School

Construction to begin in three weeks

The Lexington-based D.W. Wilburn likely will begin construction of the new B. Michael Caudill Middle School in about three weeks.

The Madison County School Board approved D.W. Wilburn’s low bid of $19.7 million for the project Thursday during its regular monthly at Madison Central High School.

The only other bid of nearly $20.9 million came from Messer Construction, which has Kentucky offices in Lexington and Louisville.

“We have a new school,” Board Chair Betsy Bohannon said after the bid was approved.

D.W. Wilburn also constructed Glenn Marshall Elementary which the new middle school will be located next to on the Robert Martin Bypass.

Tony Thomas, architect for Clotfelter Samokar, the Lexington-based firm who designed the project, presented a framed artist rendering of Caudill Middle School to be displayed at the district’s central office.

The new 95,000-square-foot, one-story school will have a capacity to serve 600 students and is scheduled to open for the 2009-10 school year.

The middle school, which will be the largest in the district, will include 16 standard classrooms, six Carnegie Learning labs and three classroom wings, one for each grade.

Ken Bicknell, who has served the district for 15 years and has been assistant principal at Madison Southern High School, recently was named principal of the new middle school.

The board also:

• Approved first reading of revisions to a Student Welfare and Wellness policy that would encourage schools to not take physical activity away from students for discipline or academic reasons.

“Our core content is to teach healthier lifestyles and to teach children to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Becky Carr, district school health coordinator. “We feel like this is a negative way to do that by punishing children by taking physical activity away.”

• Approved first reading of revisions to a Preschool Education policy that would allow the district to offer available slots not taken by students meeting income guidelines on a tuition basis.

Priorities would go first to families close to meeting the income guidelines, then to those living within the area of a school with an available spot.

On average, slots could become available as early as mid-September and as late as January.

“Whether it’s five or 25 slots across the district, we want the slots to be filled so we can offer our services to support families,” said Karla Willis, preschool director.

• Approved an Even Grant Application that, if awarded, would provide $100,000 for a Madison County Schools Teen Pregnancy Program.

The program would provide teen parents with classes, some prenatal care, tutoring resources and access to the Madison County Health Department’s HANDS program for new parents.

More than 60 teen parents have been identified throughout the county.

“We feel like it would be very effective program in making sure that our teen parents get through school and get the resources they need,” said Erin Stewart, community education director for the district.

Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.

        

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