Two building projects is too much for one school district to manage at once.

So, for the time being, they’re focusing on Blakely.

At last Thursday’s school board meeting, Capital Projects Director Tamela Van Winkle shared a draft timeline for the construction of the two buildings, the Bainbridge High 100 Building and Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary School. The two facilities were at the center of an $81.2 million bond proposal approved by voters in the Feb. 9 Special Election.

Construction on Blakely is scheduled to begin in March 2018 with building completion by August 2019.

As with the reconstruction of Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary a few years ago, students will remain in the current building during the construction of the new building, Van Winkle said.

The demolition of the old Blakely building is scheduled to be completed three months later, by November.

Construction work on a new BHS 100 Building is scheduled to begin in January 2019, with a projected opening in May 2020.

Van Winkle said that she could not say where students would go during the construction because district officials have not yet had that conversation.

The timeline, Van Winkle iterated, is very preliminary and subject to change, pending discussions with the city, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, consultants and contractors.

“It feels reasonable to me right now, but it depends on the city and a few other factors,” she added.

One of the concerns Van Winkle has is that city planning staff will not have the capacity to review plans for both schools.

She said if they were too busy, it might make sense to hire an outside reviewer.

Van Winkle also said that her team doesn’t have the capacity to mange two building projects at once and that she would probably look for a project manager for the BHS 100 Building, depending on how the Blakely process goes.

A committee — composed of Blakely teachers, district staff and community members — is in the process of selecting an architect for Blakely.

Van Winkle said the committee was considering four candidates and hoped to have a recommendation for the board by the end of the month. Following selection of the architect, district staff will begin the educational specifications process.

Conversations about program and space needs for a new BHS 100 Building will begin informally before the end of the year.

Architect selection and educational specifications are planned to begin in December.