The Daviess County Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday received its first detailed look at the schematic design for the new Highland Elementary School, including proposed floor plans and two potential site orientations for the future campus off Fairview Drive behind Daviess County Middle School.
Justin McElfresh of Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects presented the plans, describing them as the result of months of work with district leaders and extensive input from Highland staff.
“We kind of started with a school that we’ve done elsewhere,” McElfresh said. “Then we met with the staff at Highland. We had a really good vision session with the staff and administration, got a lot of great input, and made a few modifications to the plan.”
Based on the schematics presented Tuesday, the proposed building is a two-story school designed for approximately 600 students, totaling about 65,600 square feet. The first floor would house primary-grade classrooms, administration, a cafeteria, kitchen, gymnasium, and art and music spaces, while the second floor would include additional classrooms, a centrally located media center, staff resource areas, and mechanical space.
The school is designed in an upside-down T configuration, with two curved classroom wings extending outward from a central spine. A third wing extends to the rear of the building and houses shared spaces, including the cafeteria and gymnasium, allowing academic areas to branch off from a centralized hub while keeping large, high-traffic spaces contained in one area.
McElfresh said one of the earliest changes came in the administrative area near the front entrance.
“Staff wanted to make sure that when you came in the front door, it didn’t feel like you were immediately in the cafeteria or common space,” he said.
Music was another area of focus. The proposed design adds extra music storage and places the music room centrally, with access from the cafeteria to allow flexibility for performances and larger activities.
The heart of the building is a multi-use cafeteria space designed to accommodate more than just meals.
“That space can be used for practices and other school activities,” McElfresh said. “It’s really intended to be integral to the life of the school.”
Adjacent to the cafeteria is a gymnasium that will also serve as the school’s tornado shelter, a requirement under the Kentucky Building Code for all new school facilities. The shelter is designed to withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour and includes reinforced walls, a dense roof structure, backup power, and ventilation capable of operating for up to two hours after a severe weather event.
“The gym is just a really good space to do that,” McElfresh said. “You already have restrooms, it’s a large open area, and that hardened shell also gives you great sound isolation when you’re using it day to day.”
The design also includes a raised platform near the gym, which McElfresh said could be used for flexible purposes such as additional music space or small productions.
Classroom safety features include the ability to lock down not only individual classrooms but entire classroom wings, adding another layer of security beyond state requirements.
Each first-floor classroom, which is intended for primary-grade students, includes a restroom located directly inside the classroom. McElfresh said the design allows younger students to access restrooms without entering the hallway, improving supervision, efficiency, and safety during the school day.
On the second floor, intermediate-grade classrooms are similar in size to those below but include built-in storage instead of individual restrooms. McElfresh said that change was made to ensure equity across classrooms and address long-standing storage challenges in Kentucky’s model school program.
A centrally located media center overlooks the main entry and cafeteria below, while a nearby staff resource area was added at the request of Highland administrators.
“They wanted a central place where staff could access resources, eat lunch, and still have some oversight of the cafeteria,” McElfresh said.
The cafeteria and gymnasium are both double-height spaces, while mechanical equipment would be housed in a mezzanine area above portions of the first floor.
In addition to the building schematics, the board reviewed two site concepts prepared with Arnold Consulting Engineering Services. Both options place the new elementary school on property behind Daviess County Middle School, with an emphasis on separating bus traffic, parent drop-off, and service vehicles.
The first option rotates the building so the main entrance faces west, toward Hayden Road. That layout prioritizes parking near the front door and includes a dedicated bus loop, nine bus loading spaces, and a separate service and delivery area. Board members noted the distance between the parent drop-off loop and the building and discussed whether it could be tightened to improve efficiency.
The second option turns the building to face south toward Calumet Trace. While it extends the parent drop-off stacking distance, that option places most staff and visitor parking farther from the front entrance.
With both options, the only access to Calumet Trace would be for buses. Parents would still have to access the property from Hayden Road.
Board members weighed aesthetics, traffic flow, safety, and community impact during an extended discussion. In both options, designers emphasized that students could access playgrounds without crossing bus or car traffic, and that landscaping and buffering could be added to improve safety and privacy.
McElfresh said selecting a site orientation soon is critical, as it affects grading, utilities, and the potential for early site work. He told the board that additional 3D renderings and visual studies could be provided within a week to help guide the decision.
District officials said the goal is to complete design and construction documents within the next three to four months, bid the project in the spring, and begin construction as early as possible. The anticipated build time is approximately 16 to 18 months.
The long-term goal, according to DCPS Director of Facilities Jarrod Carter, is to have the new Highland Elementary ready for students for the 2027–28 school year, potentially with a move-in occurring during fall or winter break.
No formal vote was taken Tuesday, as the board continues to review the schematics and site options.
