The McCracken County School Board on Tuesday approved a bid to build a new Lone Oak Middle School.
The board accepted a bid from A&K Construction in Paducah. The school will be located near Hendron-Lone Oak Elementary School.
School District Spokesperson Jayme Jones said the bottom line was around $28,899,000. The bid from A&K is $31,953,000. That cost factors in “alternates” such as a concession stand, grandstands and press box and synthetic turf for a football/soccer field. Other costs include engineering and architect fees, contingency fees, etc. bringing the total cost of the project to $38,701,303.69.
The plan requires approval from the Kentucky Department of Education. Construction is expected to take a year and a half. Jones says students would likely move into the new building in Fall 2021.
Jones said the current middle school averages between 750 to 800 students. The new building will be 129,000 square feet with a capacity for 950 students. The project is also designed to alleviate overcrowding outside, when school lets out, for example.
Lone Oak Intermediate students would move to the current Middle School. The Intermediate school houses 4th and 5th grade. The school was formerly the middle school and needs major renovations, according to Jones.
In 2017, the district accepted bids for the renovation of the Intermediate School, Jones said the renovation costs were deemed too high and the undertaking would have been complicated, taking multiple years. Central office staff will move into the Intermediate School. Their current space would return to Reidland Middle School.
