Officials say that the school is needed to finish the district's plan to reconfigure grades. The plan would set up campuses with kindergarten through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade.
Students who will attend the new middle school currently attend the sixth through12th grade Blair International Baccalaureate Magnet School on South Marengo.
School Board member Renatta Cooper said that with declining enrollment, there may not be enough students to fill the new 650 spots created by the new school building.
Enrollment has steadily declined within the Pasadena School District since 2004 and the district expects a drop of 200 additional students next school year.
Cooper says without the new building, the district has enough room for middle school students at other middle schools, such as Elliot and Wilson Middle Schools.
