Stevens Middle School saw ‘‘a really big day’’ of concrete work Sept. 25 as district project staff reported steady progress and an upcoming schedule of major pours and retaining-wall work. The board heard that the new middle school building is substantially larger than the existing structure and that multiple accompanying projects — Franklin, the high school and the auditorium — are advancing through consultant selection and PRC (public works review) steps.

The presentation matters because construction milestones and project choices affect budget timing, local contractor employment and when students will occupy new spaces. Board members and staff framed the work as the critical phase when foundations and seismic brace frames are set.

District project staff said the new middle school building footprint increases from about 43,000 square feet to roughly 84,000 square feet and includes a gym, music room and new bus drop-off. “It was a really big day over at Stevens today,” the presenter said, describing a concrete pour of multiple brace frames and noting that the team had planned a 300-cubic-yard pour but completed about 220 cubic yards for the first brace-frame pour. He described a later retaining-wall pour scheduled for Oct. 9 that will require a large truck rotation and a 12-foot stem wall marking the start of the first floor.

Staff walked the board through photos of rebar, anchor bolts and the brace-frame forming. They explained technical details in plain terms: brace frames are steel columns tied together so the structure moves uniformly in an earthquake; anchor bolts secure the steel to the concrete; the crew used heavy rebar including No. 9 bar (about one inch in diameter) and large anchor bolts up to 3.5 inches.

The team highlighted local procurement and labor: concrete and form boards came from local suppliers and the site employed local carpenters and laborers, with 23 truckloads of concrete delivered from a local plant during a major pour. Work noted as complete or nearly complete included excavation, grading, backfill, repaired asphalt walkways and a new water-line connection that restores a fire-hydrant loop.

Project staff also summarized near-term tasks: additional brace-frame pours, retaining-wall pours, elevator-slab pours in stages, preconstruction meetings and waterproofing coordination for the lower-level retaining walls. For Franklin and the high school, the district has selected or is negotiating with architects and consultants for traffic studies, topography, hazardous-materials reviews and geotechnical work; the district intends to submit required PRC documentation by Oct. 15 and anticipated virtual interviews with PRC in December.

Staff told the board that change orders to date have been addressed through the summer and that no new unexpected change orders were being presented at this meeting; the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) process is now in place and some change orders tied to the GMP are forthcoming. The district also emphasized quality-control expectations — for example, polished concrete specifications require removal and replacement if cracks appear. The presenter said local contractors appear to be hiring into the community and that the district is monitoring the use of local labor as part of contracting conversations.

Board members praised visible local employment and the project pace and asked no substantive follow-up questions during the update. Superintendent Michelle Olsen later thanked staff and encouraged board members to visit the site at upcoming public walkthroughs the district has scheduled.

The board received the projects update; no formal action was taken on construction items at the meeting. The district invited board members to an Oct. 1 site visit for Stevens and reiterated that future large pours and foundation work remain on the near-term schedule.