The Edmond Public Schools Board of Education approved site drawings for Middle School No. 7 to be built on the Covell Air Depot property and authorized staff to begin the bidding process for site dirt work.

District staff presented a full build-out plan for the 80-acre site but said the current budget supports only the core phase necessary to open the school. The board approved moving forward with the initial phase, which includes the school core and associated bus staging area; district staff said they also plan to construct a large bus parking lot for East Side operations using bond funds when available.

Board members asked about traffic flow and pickup/drop-off routes. Facilities staff showed a plan describing drop-off loop access near the elementary and access across the infield between the track and school, with bus entrances exiting onto Covell (the transcript lists “Covell Air Depot” as the site). Staff said alternating start times at adjacent elementary and middle schools would allow the same queuing area to serve both campuses and that they expected a longer queuing lane than at existing schools. The board also discussed a placeholder location for a possible future East Side transition academy and exterior recreational features such as an outdoor basketball area and shelter.

Following questions from the board about bus fuel and maintenance, staff said the initial site work will include gravel so buses can stage but that no refueling facility is planned for the site at this time.

The motion to approve drawing and authorize bidding passed by roll call.

What’s next: facilities staff will advertise bids for site dirt work, complete initial grading and gravel access for bus staging, and return to the board with subsequent construction-phase decisions as funding allows.