OVERVIEW
In November of 2024, Franklin Public Schools placed a referendum question on the ballot.  The $145M referendum is outlined in the details below.  This work was built upon the FPS School Board hearing from the community through an April 2024 survey about our Franklin Public Schools long-range facility planning efforts. After reviewing the survey results, the Board examined the costs, scope and timeline of these projects and adjusted based on community feedback. The FPS School Board passed a June 2024 resolution in support of pursuing $145M for the purpose of completing maintenance projects at 5 elementary schools and the work proposed at Franklin High School.  This adjusted scope is what resulted in the referendum of November 2024 and is comprised of these (2) projects: 

$21.9 (of $145M) To Update Buildings & Grounds

 

$123.1M (of $145M) to Update & Expand FHS

 

Banner: Updates

Please know these updates are listed with the newest and most current updates at the top.

In addition, we regularly share Franklin Forward updates in our bi-weekly District Newsletters and weekly Building Bulletins. Access to all of our past newsletters are linked up on our Communications Hub page here.  Parents, Guardians, and Staff are set to automatically receive our newsletters. If you are a community member that would like to receive any of our newsletters, please complete our SUBSCRIBE FORM.

Thursday, November 20, 2025

At last week's Board Meeting, Dr. Annalee Bennin, Mike Hacker (Cadence Consulting), Devin Kack and Nick Kent (PRA), and Phil Jaskolski (C.D. Smith) presented “Franklin Forward Update #6” to the Board and shared an updated timeline and visuals related to the Franklin High School construction project.  Below are links to the related visuals:

 
 

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

FPS Leaders, Students, Partners and Community Members with shovels at groundbreaking

We held the FHS Groundbreaking Ceremony at 10am on Wednesday, November 12th.  To see images and video clips from the event, please click here.

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

The following slides are a Franklin Forward Update #6 presented at the Tues 11/11/25 School Board Meeting:

 

Monday, November 10, 2025

Due to this morning's cold and the inability for all aspects of our planned FHS Groundbreaking Ceremony to take place, we are postponing the event to this Wednesday, November 12th @ 10am.  You can view the updated invitation for the event here that contains all details.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Please join us for the FHS Groundbreaking celebration on Monday, November 10th @ 10am in front of Sullivan Stadium. Please enter and park near the baseball fields.  The day is predicted to have a high of 38 degrees so please dress warmly!  In the event there is a very inclement weather and changes have to be made, we will post on this webpage.  See you there!

Groundbreaking Ceremony Invite - Mon, November 10th at 10am at FHS Sullivan Stadium.

 

Monday, October 27, 2025  (Special Newsletter Update Here)

Dear Families & Community Members, 

CLICK HERE for a special update from FPS Administrator Dr. Annalee Bennin regarding our Franklin Forward work. 

Included in this message are details about:

  • What you will see occuring on the FHS grounds
  • Phases of the work
  • A timeline up to Winter Break
  • School board resolution information regarding the 2026-27 & 2027-28 school calendars
  • Details on the FHS Groundbreaking Ceremony on Mon 11/10 @ 10am
  • Updates about completed work this past spring and summer

Thank you,
FPS Communications

Monday, October 6, 2025

We hoped to provide more updates since our last update in June about the continued work of Franklin Forward including details about the start of construction at Franklin High School this fall.  While full site plan approval was expected in late July/early August by the City of Franklin, this has not yet happened.  We expected to have construction fences in place at Franklin High School in August, with groundwork to the north of the school following in August and September.  Simply driving by FHS, one can observe that this has not taken place and our groundbreaking has been significantly delayed. We are working to reschedule the demolition of the pool, which was originally scheduled for early October. The exact timeline of rescheduling these phases of work is contingent on City of Franklin Plan Commission action and a final site plan approval.  

Upcoming City of Franklin meetings around submitted FHS site plans:  

  • A third City of Franklin Plan Commission meeting will be held Thursday, October 9th to review the southeast corner of FHS property and the multiply-submitted plans for development with adaptations that take into account feedback from community and City personnel.  
  • Anyone wanting to speak to their interest around the submitted work is welcome to speak during the Citizen Comment Period at either meeting, or submit a note of project support to City officials.   

This project holds vital importance for our community; the School Board and District Administration continue to advocate for what we believe that decades of future Sabers and staff deserve to be able to equitably access across the High School site, including tennis courts, practice fields, and varied educational environments indoors.  Thank you for your understanding and support.

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

The following slides are a Franklin Forward Update #5 presented at the Wed 8/13/25 School Board Meeting and recent City Council Meeting:

 

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Provided below is the updated FHS Phasing Video that was provided during an update to the board at last night’s Wednesday, June 18, 2025 Board Meeting.  This video shows the updated scope, sequencing and timeline of the FHS project that will begin this August.  

 

The following slides are a Franklin Forward Update #4 presented at the Wed 6/18/25 School Board Meeting:

 
 

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

The following slides are a Franklin Forward Update #3 presented at the Wed 5/7/25 School Board Meeting:

 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

The following slides are Franklin Forward Update #2 presented at the Wed 4/9/25 School Board Meeting:

 

 

Thursday, April 3, 2025 (update from District Newsletter #14 here)

  • Work continues as we are in the Schematic Phase of planning as shared at our January update to the FPS School Board. Within the next 4-8 weeks, the Core Planning Team and consultants plan to be in the design phase and closer to having architectural drawings to start working from as we build to our first bid package.
  • Our partners at PRA (Architects) will be conducting another round of meetings with district stakeholders, including staff, to collect further feedback on the current work developed during the Schematic Phase.
  • The Core Design Team met with Mayor Nelson, Kelly Hersch, and five additional city leaders in mid-March to share our tentative timeline that the Board saw at the January school board meeting. This information has also been shared recently in district newsletters and includes a rough outline of the building and developed spaces. The main purpose of the meeting was to get acquainted with who everyone is from the City departments, the district and the district consultants and to establish a regular meeting. In addition, we set recurring monthly meetings with the City to ensure we have everything they expect for upcoming Planning Commission and City Council meetings.

Thursday, March 6, 2025 (update from District Newsletter #13 here)

As we progress on our Franklin Forward work for the additions at Franklin High School and updates to the elementary buildings that were part of the $145M November 2024 referendum, we will regularly update families and the members of the community in our first district newsletter and website.

Here are some updates about the progress of that work:

  • Thank you to those that gave feedback through the stakeholder form we shared recently. We received 483 feedback submissions (text, video, or audio). As part of stakeholder feedback collection, we received many responses from current and future FHS students that will also help to inform the design process!
  • The FPS Core Planning Team has focused on the general layout of the addition and remodeling at Franklin High School. As that becomes more final, the team will turn to the interior portions of the facility and start generating more curricular area specific planning for spaces.
  • In regards to the capital projects at the elementary buildings, the district has been bidding out work and selecting partners for Roofing, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing projects. Many projects such as roof replacements and boiler plant updates will be underway as soon as students are released for the summer.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

The following slides are Franklin Forward Update #1 presented at the Wed 1/15/25 School Board Meeting:

Thursday, December 19, 2024 (update from District Newsletter #08 here)

Since the passing of the referendum, there have been a variety of collaborations taking place with CD Smith, PRA, and Cadence Consulting as we begin ‘molding the clay’ of the projects across FPS and set the timeline for the work over the next four years. We are also excited to incorporate voice from our students and you, our parents, and our community around these projects. Watch for more information in January on how you can be a part of this historic project!

Below are the important items to know and review as we all get eager to see the work come into action for our staff, learners, families and community!

The $21.9 million in maintenance across our five elementary schools and the high school will take place with leadership from our own Buildings and Grounds crew under Director Andy Daniels and the support of CD Smith, our construction manager. Much of this work is maintenance focused, therefore, not a lot of voice for staff for this work. However, this does include some playground adjustments or additions to a couple schools and that would be an area where the thoughts of staff will be incorporated. More details will be shared on these projects at a later date.

The $123.1 million in renovations and additions at Franklin High School is the bulk of the work and CD Smith will be the project manager. The Core Team will do the majority of the planning and final decisions for this work, however, there will be opportunities for input from staff, students, families and community members.

The flow to the work at FHS is complex; meaning as one area is complete, we will shift classes into the new space, renovate or remove the old space, and shift classes when the space is complete multiple times over the next four years. The complexity of the plan ensures minimal disruption to classroom learning environments and minimal classrooms that have to shift during construction. We will begin from North to South. A preliminary look at the phasing of these projects is included below, though this is fluid and will adjust as the team progresses the work:

  • Design Work: November 2024 - November 2025
  • Demo Pool: October 2025
  • Construction of Field House including Pool & Additional Parking: November 2025 - June 2027
  • Construction of Family & Consumer Science (FCS), Large Group Instruction Space (LGI) & Corridor: November 2026 - June 2027
  • Construction of Tennis Courts & Street to Neighborhood: April 2027 - August 2027
  • Demo Gym, Weightroom, Multipurpose Room, Locker Rooms, Wrestling Room, World Language & Special Education Classrooms: June-July 2027
  • Construction of FACS & Science Classroom: June-August 2027
  • Construction of Autos, Woods, Metals, & Fab Lab: June 2027 - March 2028
  • Demo Autos & CTE Space: March 2028
  • Construction of Special Education Spaces, World Language and Corridor to Field House: March - October 2028

(click on image below for larger view if needed)

FHS Project Overview Timeline pieces

 

  • As with any construction project, especially over a span of four years, the timeline will ebb and flow depending on pace of work, accessibility of supplies, weather, fluctuating timelines to receive permits, among a myriad of other items that can speed up or delay construction.
  • The Phasing Video gives an overview of where these spaces are located and the flow to the construction.
  • Athletic Director Cordell Smith will be working to partner with an area school to utilize their pool for our swim teams during these construction phases. Principal Mike Vuolo will work with our team to identify temporary classrooms during construction of new classrooms. All of this will be communicated ahead of time.
  • The preliminary draft drawings of Franklin High School, when completed, are below and clickable to see larger versions.
Wideshot of expected new FHS campus
Draft - Conceptual Rendering of new entrance from front
Draft - Image of new athletic spaces from sitting in stadium

 

Most importantly, we want to ensure safety throughout the entire construction. Our beginning Core Meetings have included walking through how our Raptor System, which is also utilized by CD Smith, will capture those on property, assign badges to workers and outline access areas to the school.

We will continue to share updates with the School Board and our community through our Board meetings, District Newsletter, the Franklin Focal Point (all city mailer), and through the Franklin Forward website.

Thank you for your support which will allow our learners and staff the ability to create spaces to reach beyond today but decades into the future to ensure they are college or career ready.

Proud to be a Saber!
Annalee Bennin
FPS District Administrator

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

The Franklin Community voted to approve the $145M referendum.  Now that the referendum has been approved, we move to our planning stages.  You can see the message from FPS District Administrator Annalee Bennin in our November 14th Newsletter here.  You can expect to see updates on this page and through our District Newsletters.  Thank You, Franklin!

 

For updates further back in time, please visit our ARCHIVE page here