Ansonia’s new middle school has a site, an architect and a budget of about $87.4 million. It still lacks a final design, and on Wednesday residents will get an early chance to shape one.

The workshop runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sep 30 in the media room at Ansonia High School, 20 Pulaski Highway.

Tecton Architects, the firm designing the school, says students, educators, parents, staff, board members and community leaders will take part in activities meant to identify local priorities. Organizers have invited attendees to bring photographs of local history or school spaces they find useful.

What’s Settled

The city plans to build the school on Pulaski Highway near the high school, replacing the middle school on Howard Avenue, which is more than 85 years old. The goal is to open the new building in fall 2029.

The city hired Tecton in May for $4.64 million in architectural and engineering services. Documents shared earlier by city officials put the total project budget at about $87.4 million. Voters authorized borrowing of up to $100 million in 2023, and state lawmakers set a reimbursement rate that could cover up to about 87 percent of eligible costs.

Those figures describe a budget, a borrowing authorization and a potential reimbursement. They are not three price tags, and not every expense is necessarily eligible for state money.

What’s Still Open

Questions families can raise include arrival and dismissal, walking routes and bus circulation, accessibility, space for special education, after-school use, air quality and daylight, and how students will move between classrooms and common areas.

Teachers and staff can speak to classroom flexibility, storage, technology, supervision and how the school will relate to the district offices included in the project. Residents may also ask how the design will reflect Ansonia’s history and how the new building will work alongside the high school.

The workshop will not settle every design choice, and building, land-use and financing approvals are still to come. Organizers say it is intended to gather early public input on what Ansonia wants from its next middle school.