Craig Daily Press

Craig — Christine Balderston remembers.

Her daughter, now a high school junior, attended Craig Middle School four years ago. Her seventh-grade son currently is enrolled at the school.

She remembers walking through the school when her daughter was a CMS student and seeing hallways lined with buckets to catch water leaking from the roofs.

The experience was “an eye opener,” she said.

The construction of a new middle school, funded by a $29.5 million bond issue approved last year, is “definitely needed,” she added.

Now that the new building is in its planning stages, Balderston has questions.

“I’m kind of curious, and I would like to see what they’re going to do,” she said.

Balderston, other parents and taxpayers will have a chance to satisfy that curiosity at noon Wednesday during a public forum hosted by the school district.

The meeting gives community members a last chance to give feedback on the new middle school’s proposed floor plan before it enters final planning. Residents also can voice their opinions about new traffic patterns and student pick-up and drop-off procedures created for the new middle school.

“It will be an opportunity for the community to … validate the work the design team has done and then share some input as a opportunity for consideration before we start setting this thing up in concrete, so to speak,” said Pete Bergmann, Moffat County School District superintendent.

“I think the school district is seeking feedback from the community because we’re paying taxpayer money,” he added. “We want to assure the community that we have a good plan in line.”

Bergmann also wants to en­­sure the citizens who approved the new middle school are on par with the district’s plans.

“We’ve considered many options over the last couple of months, and we want to be able to share that thinking with the community before we go forward into the final design phase.”

Assistant Superintendent Joel Sheridan, who organized the forum, was unavailable for com­ment.

Representatives from Neenan Archistruction, the district’s design and building company, and school district officials will be on hand to answer questions.

Neenan has established a basic floor plan, or “footprint,” for the new building using input from middle school staff.

Bergmann doesn’t see that footprint changing in the future, he said.

Balderston plans to attend Wednesday’s meeting. She will use one main criterion — durability — to judge the district’s plan.

“I’d just like to see them build something that will last,” she said.

Bridget Manley can be reached at 875-1795 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com