Milford School District reports that the renovation of Milford Middle School, made possible by a referendum that passed in October 2021, is still on time and under budget. The school is designed to hold 1,000 students, with 700 fifth and sixth graders set to enter the doors in September.
“We are very proud to have brought this project in under budget and excited to see our students enter the doors to the facility in September,” Trish Gerken, Public Information Officer for Milford School District said. “We will be holding a community ribbon cutting September 13 and a rededication to the Milford 11 on September 8. More details on that will follow.”
The Milford Middle School project was many years in the making. The building closed in 2012 due to structural issues and several referendums to either renovate or tear down the building failed. In 2021, the district was able to pass a referendum that would have allowed them to raise property taxes. However, because debt service on previous referendums ended over the construction period, the district was able to complete the project without raising property taxes.
The building was originally built in 1929 as the Milford High School. It was the site of the Milford 11, where eleven African American students attempted to integrate the district in 1954. That attempt was unsuccessful, but in 1962, seven African-American students, dubbed “The Milford Seven” were successful and were the first to graduate from Milford.
A new school was built on the Nutter property located at Northeast 10th and Walnut Street in 1962. Originally, the new school was planned as junior high school, but soon after it was completed, the district switched buildings, making the 10th Street property the high school and the Lakeview Avenue property the middle school.
Prior to the passage of the referendum, a committee of community leaders, educators and parents reviewed the property took public input into what should be done with the closed school. The overwhelming consensus from public comment was that Milfordians wanted the building to remain a school. It was determined that, based on enrollment numbers at the time, the school should house fifth and sixth grade students.
Construction began in 2023 with plans designed to retain the historic portion of the building, tear down wings built in the 1950s and 1960s with construction of new wings for classrooms, gymnasiums and cafeterias. The front of the building will now face Seabury Avenue rather than Lakeview Avenue with the historic portion of the building facing as it has for almost 100 years. When the building was designed, architects planned for future growth so that additional classrooms could be added easily.
