#MiddletownRI continues its momentum to remake its school buildings and grounds, with more than $20 million contracted to upgrade the existing Middletown High School to the Valley Elementary School for second to fifth grades at 130 Valley Road.
$20 MILLION IN UPGRADES PLANNED
FOR NEW VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MIDDLETOWN, RI (NOVEMBER 20, 2025) – At almost every recent Town Council meeting, there’s been a briefing about the progress of the new Middletown Middle High School.
The council has heard about the pouring of concrete, the construction of elevator shafts, the installation of steel beams, the steady drumbeat of the “on time and on budget” project just north of Gaudet Middle School under the watchful eyes of the volunteer School Building Committee.
Another part of plans to remake the Middletown school system hasn’t been talked about as much — transforming the existing Middletown High School building into the new grade 2-5 Valley Elementary School.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t significant work happening by the School Building Committee and others involved with what’s shaping up as the biggest public project in the history of Middletown.
At a meeting earlier this week, the Town Council heard how there’s more than $20 million contracted for work at Valley Elementary at 130 Valley Road. All this will be paid for within the existing budget for the new school and related renovations without creating a spike in taxes.
“We’ve made very conscious, planned decisions about how we’re doing this entire project,” School Building Committee Chairman Ed Brady said. “Nothing has been done without a thorough review by the committee and our team because we want to make sure the students and teachers get the best schools possible at the best price for our taxpayers.”
From the council dais, Councilor Charlie Roberts — a former co-chair of the School Building Committee — said he couldn’t be more impressed with the volunteer board’s work to date. Touring the work site for the new school last week, Roberts said he was extremely pleased with what he’s seen.
“It’s really good to see the professionalism of Colliers (Project Leaders) and (construction managers) Gilbane (Building Co.) on this project,” Roberts said. “I’ve been on a lot of construction projects in my career and…it’s really great to see the level of detail you guys are following, so thank you for that.”
Importantly, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will be paying 55 percent of the eligible project costs. That means for every dollar the town spends on the new school, 55 cents of every eligible expense will be reimbursed by RIDE.
The way Middletown has structured the repayment of the school bonds, it’s built into the budget and done in a way that doesn’t cause spikes in the tax rate.
When voters okayed the new school and related work in November 2023, they were told they weren’t just getting a state-of-the-art building, but a complete overhaul of the school’s buildings and grounds.
Much of the focus at the time was on the 212,000-square-foot new grade 6 through 12 middle high school on the former Starlight Drive-In property at 1225 Aquidneck Ave.
From all indications, that part of the project is going gangbusters, overseen by Colliers Project Leaders and the Gilbane Building Co. serving as construction managers.
Just look in on the construction site and visit again a week or two later and the progress is more than obvious.
However, no less important was the decision to renovate the existing Middletown High School building in keeping with the community’s long-standing commitment to reusing existing structures wherever possible.
Bentley Companies is handling work at the Valley Elementary School. On Monday night, a Guaranteed Maximum Price agreement was approved between the town and the Warwick construction firm. That means Bentley agrees to perform all contracted work for no more than the agreed upon set price, unless certain very special circumstances arise.
One question some continue to ask is why is the high school being replaced at all when it’s good enough for the new grade 2-5 elementary school at 130 Valley Road?
Local leaders said without improvements, the existing classroom sizes for most learning spaces at the high school don’t meet the requirements of today’s students or teachers. They’re cramped and don’t provide enough room for 14- to 18-year-olds to learn and grow nearly enough.
But when those same spaces are occupied by smaller 7- to 10-year-olds, modern educational standards show there’s plenty of room for elementary school students to learn in a warm, upbeat environment.
And this is before any of the myriads of improvements are even put into effect at Valley Elementary School.
The new furniture, the improved stage, the updated air handling and heating systems, the better lighting, the unique learning spaces, the multiple outdoor playgrounds and other sweeping upgrades are all included in the plan.
The installation of an elevator and proper lifts and analysis of how to convert the two long neglected courtyards into fun, welcoming outdoor learning spaces is also part of the project.
All told, there’s more than $20 million set aside in the existing bond proceeds to pay for this work. That includes substantial contingencies just in case issues arise during construction.
Much of Bentley’s work to date has taken place over the summer months and in the off -hours at 130 Valley Road to not interfere with existing high school operations.
That way, the new Valley Elementary School will be open at the same time as the new Middletown Middle High School — for the start of the 2027-28 school year.
That’s a result of the close oversight of the bottom line and every aspect of the entire school building project, whether that’s Middletown Middle High School, Valley Elementary and work at the Forest Avenue School, which will become a pre-kindergarten to first grade learning center.
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said the way the project is scheduled and budgeted, there’s a good sum of money reserved for renovations to Forest Avenue School.
While the School Building Committee has been focused on Middletown Middle High and Valley Elementary schools, Brown said the fine tuning of plans for the renovated Forest Avenue School have been taking place as well.
Once those plans are finalized by the building committee, Brown said they’ll be presented to the School Committee and Town Council for review — like every other aspect of the project. For more about the School Building Committee, visit https://mdl.town/SBC online.
“Forest Avenue has not been forgotten,” Brown said. “It will be what’s next. That’s our next milestone and we’re very pleased with how everything has come together so far and know each of these schools will be much, much better than what we’ve offered for years.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-VES
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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