The Lee County School District is following through on its 2018 sales tax campaign promise to rebuild Cypress Lake Middle School.
"This bittersweet moment of losing the school that we love. But with an exciting view of the future," said Matt Miller, principal of Cypress Middle School.
Miller says the building was in need of significant upgrades.
"We had, you know, monthly challenges, AC systems were starting to age a little bit. You know, the building itself, it was a wonderful building. But really, it is time," Miller said.
Now, the old campus is being demolished. Students won't miss a beat of learning, that's because they are attending classes in portable classrooms. Most say they are pleasantly surprised by the experience.
"After I figured my way around the new layout, it really has been the same as it was before. Same classes, same teachers, all my friends. It really still just feels like cypress to me," said student Bella Vest.
The rebuild will cost $100,599,777. Students are expected to move into the new school in October 2026, but the project will be fully completed by February 2027. The portables will have to be removed, and the site will need to be cleaned up.
"As a vibrant art school, it was very important to us to have, you know, very high-level arts areas and close proximity to our raised stage, which will be, kind of on the side of the gym. And also, you know, we wanted to really make sure that the traffic patterns were smooth because, first and foremost, we have to think about the safety and security of our students," Miller said.
The goal is for students to be in the new building as quickly as possible. Project partners are eager to take the next steps to make that happen.
"For now, it's just demoing the rest of the school and getting ready for all the subcontractors to come in and start, you know, putting everything together. It's a wonderful process to see built happen," said Corey O'Donnell, marketing manager for Owen Ames Kimball.