Consultant Presidio presented three options on Dec. 9 for accelerating the Jefferson High School modernization, and staff told the Facilities Improvement and Oversight Committee they will dig deeper into a "shell" option that could allow students to occupy lower floors while upper-floor work continues.

Presidio's option 1 ("Shell") would build the full structural and life-safety systems for all floors simultaneously and finish tenant work on upper floors later, enabling occupancy of the first and second floors sooner. Presidio said the approach has been used in other districts and stressed the need for HVAC, elevators and life-safety systems to be in place before students return. "The only work that would be remaining on the 3rd and 4th Floor would be, like, tenant finish out," a presenter said.

Option 2 envisions an on-site portable educational village so students remain in their community during construction; Presidio cautioned it would require major coordination around restrooms, food service, safety, electrical and sewer connections. Option 3 (swinging students off-site) was presented but staff and board members said it had strong community pushback and is effectively off the table for this program.

Board members and staff reported informal contractor feedback that if permits and drawings are completed before January 2027, the contractor could accelerate schedule and help push Jefferson open earlier, though that would still require coordination and formal commitments. Staff also said the land-use application is in the city's major projects intake and that biweekly coordination calls are underway to align permitting schedules. Staff clarified that athletic fields may not be complete at initial occupancy under the shell scenario because demolition and field construction remain on the longer schedule.

What happens next: The committee directed staff to pursue further study of the shell option and return with more detailed logistics, permitting and schedule analysis.