Lakeville's $139.6 Million Middle School Expansion: Where Things Stand

TLDR

• The $139.6 million middle school referendum passed May 12 with 54% of the vote.
• Design work is happening now for Century, Kenwood Trail and McGuire middle schools.
• Construction is expected to start in spring 2027 and mostly wrap up by fall 2028.
• Superintendent Michael Baumann promised it'll be on time and on budget, "or you can fire me."

Nearly six months after voters said yes, Lakeville Area Schools gave an update on its middle school expansion at the State of the Schools event (video posted Oct. 30). Superintendent Michael Baumann thanked Lakeville voters and laid out what the district is aiming for as plans get finalized.

Quick Refresher

Lakeville voters approved the $139.6 million "Growing Together" referendum on May 12. It passed with 54.04% yes, according to the district's middle school expansion page. We covered the results in our referendum recap, and we broke down what each school would get before the vote.

The money pays for additions and remodels at all three middle schools: Century, Kenwood Trail and McGuire. The plan includes:

• New classroom additions and gyms
• Remodeled small classrooms and special education rooms
• Updated spaces for STEM, band, choir, art and family and consumer science
• New kitchens, cafeterias and offices
• Better parking and new classroom furniture

The district's referendum page puts the tax impact at about $14 a month on a $500,000 home.

Why Now

Lakeville keeps growing, and that's "by plan design," Baumann said. The district says K-12 enrollment grew by about 1,200 students over the past 10 years. Nearly 9,000 new homes, townhomes and apartments were approved in that time. Middle school enrollment is expected to grow about 8% in the next five years.

The buildings are also old. McGuire was built in 1956, and it started life as a high school.

The district has done this before. Years ago, it added classroom wings at its elementary schools. Baumann thinks that track record shows they can pull it off again.

What the District Is Aiming For

Baumann said the design process is focused on a few goals:

• Safe and welcoming. But not too far. "I do not want to garrison our schools and make them look like prisons," he said.
• Smart with money. Designs need to be right and fiscally responsible.
• Flexible. Nobody knows exactly what school will look like in 20 years, so spaces need to adapt.
• Built for special education. Special ed needs are everywhere in the district, and the spaces should serve those students well.

Then came the line of the day. "We will deliver on time and on budget or you can fire me." He added that he'd be "perfectly comfortable with that." Bold.

What the New Plans Show

The district has posted updated working site plans for all three schools, drawn up with the architecture firm Wold. Design committees of school staff, leaders and architects updated them in October 2026. They're still working plans, so details can change.

At McGuire, the plan shows a new classroom addition, an auxiliary gym built to double as a storm shelter, a bigger cafeteria and kitchen, and remodeled space to fix small classrooms. It also reworks the bus and parent drop-off lanes McGuire shares with JFK Elementary.

Century and Kenwood Trail get their own additions and remodels, too. You can flip through every school's plans on the district's expansion page.

What's Next

Here's the district's timeline:

• Summer and fall 2026: Design committees update each school's plans. That happened in October.
• Spring 2027: Construction expected to begin.
• Fall 2028: Most construction expected to be done.

Updates will go on the district's expansion page as they come in.

The Bottom Line

If you have a kid heading to middle school in the next few years, expect some construction noise starting in 2027. The new spaces should mostly be ready by fall 2028. The superintendent put his job on the line for on time and on budget, so we'll be watching. For background on how the district got here, see our April school board recap. The city also keeps a District 194 page with district contacts. And for more on how Lakeville is growing, check our Lakeville city page.

Image: McGuire Middle School working site plan, main level (October 2026). Lakeville Area Schools.