Putnam School Officials Closer To Selecting Design Firm

Four architectural firms will interview next month for the rights to design a new school in Cookeville.

The Putnam County Board of Education selected the firms during a Thursday evening meeting.

Board member Lynn McHenry said he’ll be looking for experienced professionalism when making a final decision.

“Basic things that are going to shine through and make that particular firm somebody we can work with,” McHenry said. “This is a long process, so hopefully it’s somebody that we can continue to get along with throughout the process. That’s critical, and of course, we want them to represent our interest as much as possible. ”

The board will interview representatives from Binkley and Garcia, HFR Design, Lewis Group, and Upland Design. Interviews will take place July 16th. Each interview will be 30-minutes, with 15 minutes set aside for presentations by the firms and 15-more minutes for questions from board.

Superintendent Jerry Boyd said he’s excited to begin the early stages of constructing the new school.

“It’s good to at least open the gate and start moving out. We know ahead of us…there’s a lot of steps that will have to be made, but the beginning is getting this conceptional design of what the school could and should look like,” Boyd said. “After that, we can have more deliberate conversations about the funds that we need to make that happen.”

The school system plans to build the school on a 45-acre tract of land on Lee Seminary Road. school board members have not yet decided if the facility will be designed as a K-4 or K-8 school.