Just as a new school year is starting to take shape, so is the new Red Bank Middle School as site prep, grading and parking is put in place.
A bulldozer operator moves dirt preparing the land for the future Red Bank Middle School behind Red Bank High School."Construction is a 12-month process," said Hamilton County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services Gary Waters. "We hope to have footings poured and block work done before bad weather so we can continue working through the winter."
Estimated construction cost is approximately $29,608,000. The school, being constructed behind Red Bank High School, is slated to officially open in August of 2013.
"We have another three weeks or so until the concrete pad for the school is completed," said Waters. "Then, we will dig and pour footings and be well under way."
Waters said the building will have the same style architectural appearance as the new Hixson Middle School. He said the new Red Bank Middle School will be two stories tall and span 160,000 square feet and have wireless Internet access.
"It will be a beautiful building," he said. "We are excited about it."
He said the building will be a typical school design with three separate instructional wings for grades 6-8 and science labs in each wing. The school will have a full-size gym, cafeteria and library.
Waters said the school grounds will have a full complement of athletic fields including a soccer field, girls softball field, high school football practice field, middle school football practice field and band practice field. Red Bank Middle School football players will play home games on the Red Bank High School football field.
It took two years to get the project started due to acquiring land from the city of Red Bank, according to Waters.
Red Bank City Manager Chris Dorsey said the city of Red Bank transferred the land behind Red Bank High School now being used to build the new RBMS to the Hamilton County School System July 21. The city swapped that property for the land at the current RBMS site.
"We won't take possession of the old Red Bank Middle School building until everything is moved," said Dorsey. "They have started clearing the land. Once the building is torn down and the site is cleared, we will get that property. We will get the old middle school property, at the latest, in March of 2014."