Community sessions for Madison Metropolitan School District’s plans for its Phase 1 Referendum Projects were held at schools intended for remodeling, as the district prepares to make much-needed fixes to some of its oldest buildings.
On Oct. 16 at Sherman Middle School and Shabazz City High School, MMSD’s design and construction team went over plans, timelines and took questions from communities on how the process will look. Plans come in conjunction with its 2024 referenda, where voters approved a $100 million Operational Referendum and a $507 million Facilities Referendum.
Plans with the $507 million look to make significant improvements to schools. At MMSD, 26 of its schools were built over 60 years ago. The school district has realized that the age of the buildings has given rise to critical issues. Space is unusable, simple modern amenities like heating and cooling are either faulty or do not exist at some schools and poor accessibility. Plans are for 10 schools across seven sites to be remodeled.
At Sherman and Shabazz, the combination middle and high school was built nearly 100 years ago in 1928.
“The way we did education in 1928 is just completely different from 2025,” said Nathan O’Shaughnessy, principal of Shabazz City High School. “We’re looking forward to building from the ground up and modernizing our approach, at least how we structure that space.”
On the other half of the building — Sherman Middle School — its Principal Alex Thompson notes that initial builds of the school didn’t really take students with disabilities into account.
“Having accessibility is a huge thing,” Thompson said/ “Our school has a project-based learning focus and experimental learning. I think the new structure will help enhance all things we do with our curriculum, too — and just having air conditioning is fantastic.”
Heating and cooling are big issues for the school as its old system is so old, and parts are no longer manufactured for it.
The new building is planned for the large field to the right of the school. Among changes in the recommended build, the average classroom size is planned to increase from 780 sq. ft. to 900 sq. ft. The change will allow for better instructional space for lab activities, which have been lacking for Shabazz, especially as previous rooms were deemed inadequate or unsafe due to a lack of available storage for chemicals.
Some shared spaces will finally become separate for middle and high schoolers. Both will gain their own library with Shabazz getting a 4,500 sq. ft. area and Sherman with a 3,800 sq ft facility. Both previously shared a 4,300 sq. ft. library.
Cafeterias will split from their previous 2,600 sq. ft. space to a 2,057 sq. ft. room for Shabazz and a 2,272 sq. ft. room for Sherman.
The principals and community members at the session were excited to see both schools have more of their own identity with the changes.
“It’s cool to have us together, but I also think the kids want theirs, as we heard in the presentation, the designers heard loud and clear from their kids that they also want their own identity too,” O’Shaughnessy said. “Logistically, Alex and I advocated for ‘Let’s have our entrances as separate as possible,’ but I think there are some good possibilities for us and we work together well as is.”
Additional changes include a significantly larger gym — 6,800 sq. ft. for Shabazz and 5,200 sq. ft for Sherman — to a combined, splittable space of 13,500 sq. ft.
“This is an investment in the future of our community. We appreciate the community stepping up once again to support the kids,” Thompson said. “Here on the northeast side, it hasn’t always gotten the tender love and care that it’s needed historically, so it’s great to see some of that resource equity in action in our city.”
Community members had some logistical questions on the overall flow of some exterior portions of Sherman and Shabazz — particularly with its greenery and road safety and access. Currently, plans are for some relocation of trees and the implementation of storm water management systems and an ask to the City of Madison to help with traffic problems along Sherman Avenue.
The community was also curious as to what is planned for the outdoor recreation space, as its large field will soon become a construction site. Madison Metro School District is currently working on a plan for that, but is teetering with the possible busing of kids to nearby schools or Warner Park to engage in its previous activities like soccer.
Construction on the new building is slated for February 2026, with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 20. Demolition for the old building is planned for summer 2027, move in later that summer, officially open in September 2027, and fully complete site work that fall.
Additional community sessions are planned later this fall at other schools that will be remodeled.
