Plans set for new Emerald Coast Middle School

On Tuesday, the Walton County School Board approved master design and site plans for the proposed Emerald Coast Middle School to be built in Point Washington.
Board members approved a $1.15 million architectural plan in late February, but did not finalize details.
Right now the site plan is completely filled and includes baseball/softball fields, a gymnasium and football field.
According to Bill Elliot Jr. of Elliot-Marshall-Innes, P.A., the new school plan would give 200 parking spaces for the middle school and 96,000-square-feet for the possibility of a new elementary school that would share facilities.
School buses would share the same loop, but would be set apart from parental-pickups.
“The access road would be much like Mossy Head,” Elliot Jr. said.
The board also approved a recommendation from Elliot Jr. to move the bid date for construction from late summer to the fall to give more time for his firm to complete the design.
“I don’t see it as a problem, as long as we’re one in the foreseeable future,” he said.
The county still has to wait on state funding before it could begin work.
Walton School Coordinator of Facilities Mike Gardner said if everything works out, he expects construction to begin late next year.
School construction is estimated to cost more than $17 million and would house more than 800 students.