Martin County School District officials are moving forward with early planning to convert Indiantown Middle School into a pre-K through eighth grade campus, part of ongoing discussions about expanding K-8 schools in the district.
District administrators recently presented a conceptual plan outlining how the change could take shape, though no final decisions have been approved.
Deputy Superintendent Tracy Miller said the proposal would shift an existing construction project already included in the district’s capital plan.
“The plan, in simple terms, is to reallocate the already planned and budgeted Warfield new construction project, and instead of continuing with that project that was in five-year capital plan, to instead turn that into a pre-K-8 school at the current Indiantown Middle School campus,” Miller said.
District leaders emphasized the project remains in its early stages, with only a preliminary concept under consideration. Miller said the approach would allow the school to continue operating normally while construction takes place.
“Through the entire building process, we would be able to leave those schools in their current state throughout the process. So we wouldn't be shuffling kids around, there wouldn't be confusion for families. We would be able to move in once the new construction is complete,” she said.
Facilities officials also outlined potential changes to the campus if the conversion moves forward.
Mark Sechrist, facilities and planning director, said the concept includes building a new academic structure designed for younger students.
“We're trying to propose a new 38-classroom building for this pre-K-8 and we're estimating now $34.5 million. We're just going to have to fine tune that as we get master plan and be able to figure out what the actual square footage of this and kind of work those numbers out,” Sechrist said.
Additional improvements could be made to existing facilities on campus as part of the larger project. Sechrist said the school’s gymnasium would likely be renovated as part of the conversion.
“That gym was actually proposed to be renovated. It would now be part of the major project and be part of this conversion. We would go in and start renovating that gym similar to what we did at Stuart Middle,” he said.
The proposal also includes enhancements to athletic and recreation areas that could support a wider range of youth sports.
“We would try to do probably some kind of t-ball, little league baseball. Because we have a full-size field, you could do flag football, soccer. You could do lacrosse too if you wanted to, but any of those types of sports because you have a full-size football field. And then you have the track, so then you can have any kind of track component you want,” he said.
The conceptual plan also discussed removing one existing building on campus. Officials said that space could be used for elementary playgrounds while reserving room for portable classrooms if needed.
If the conversion proceeds, the campus’ student capacity could increase significantly — from about 890 students to approximately 1,640.
The presentation to the school board was intended to seek approval to continue developing the concept so architects can create a more detailed design tailored to the campus.
Once those plans are developed, Superintendent Michael Maine said the district intends to involve residents in the process.
“Once we're able to get a hold of that, we can move it forward and start to begin to set up some town hall meetings where we give the community the opportunity to give us feedback into what is being proposed, tweaks that they would like to see if we've left anything out, get them really excited about what the board intends to provide for the Indiantown community,” Maine said.
Board members also asked district staff to review bus routes associated with the plan. Current concepts include eliminating three routes, and the board asked administrators to ensure students who live outside bus service areas would have safe ways to reach the school.