Dear Parents/Guardians,

When voters approved the 2022-2027 eSPLOST extension proposal at the polls a few years ago, that proposal earmarked an addition and renovation for Trickum Middle School. Last Thursday, our Board of Education approved the bid awarding Amacher Brothers Construction Co. this addition/renovation project. Construction is set to begin Monday, October 3^rd with an expected completion of August 2024. Once complete, it will expand our building capacity from its current capacity of 1775 to a new capacity of 2275 with the creation of 25 new instructional units.

This is a very exciting time, yet as all construction projects do, there will be inconveniences during the construction process. We look to minimize those inconveniences while keeping everyone informed of pending changes and hurdles along the way.

The first change will impact our current afternoon car rider process. In short, we will no longer be able to utilize the gravel road which encircles the building therefore restricting both morning and afternoon car riders to the side parking lot only. Beginning Monday, October 3^rd, afternoon car rider pick up will occur along the sidewalk where morning car rider drop off occurs. In both cases, all cars will now enter and exit campus at the red light. The struggles exiting campus at the red light will create a backup delaying the speed and efficiency of both drop off and pick up. Please see the flyer attached at the end of this message for details related to car rider changes. As always, we encourage all students to ride the bus.

To summarize this project, the addition will be in place of the current blacktop. This will be a 3-story extension to the existing 3-story academic building. The renovation portion of the project will take place in 4 classrooms along our Connections Hall. Finally, once complete and the existing portable classrooms are removed, a new blacktop will be installed between the building and the Outdoor Theatre. The addition project will include 20+ classrooms, additional restrooms for students and staff on each floor, 2 additional staircases, 3 additional exterior safety exits and 5 programmatic classrooms. These include a JLC classroom, 2 Computer Science classrooms, a Music Tech Lab and a Chemistry Lab. The renovation portion will include a redesigned Tech Ed classroom, an expanded Band room, a new Art room and a new STEM lab.

Thank you all in advance for your patience as this construction project begins. Should you have any questions along the way, please feel free to reach out. We are certainly excited about these improvements which will benefit our students and community for a long time coming.

Ryan Queen
Principal

Car Rider Process