During a community meeting that drew about 50 people Tuesday, residents said they'd like the county to build a new high school and renovate the existing high school as a middle school once new elementary schools in Prices Fork and Elliston are complete.

Montgomery County School Board members have said the Auburn strand's projects are a priority, and last year they approved $281,000 to hire RRMM Architects to continue preliminary designs for new buildings. However, they've said overcrowding in Christiansburg's schools is also a priority.

A 2007 feasibility study ordered by the school board looked at the best way to proceed on the 70-acre Auburn campus, which houses an elementary, middle and high school. The study showed that the most viable option would be to add on to the elementary school, renovate and add onto the high school and build a new middle school.

But architects Tuesday offered preliminary renderings that either option -- a newly constructed high school or a new middle school -- would work.

Based on the drawings, building a new high school would mean less construction than renovating the current high school. On the other hand, the current high school could easily become a middle school, according to architects.

School Facilities Director Dan Berenato said 95 percent of the existing high school is in good shape and would lend itself nicely to a renovated middle school.

"There are a lot of good bones here [in the high school] that can be revised," said Ben Motley, RRMM architect.

Either way, the school system's plan is to have a high school that is double the size of the current building and a middle school nearly triple in size. Initial capacity would 600 students at the high school and 480 at the middle school -- plus room to grow.

Residents who attended Tuesday's meeting, a follow-up to a similar community gathering in May, echoed sentiments that a high school trumps the needs for the lowers grades.

While a concrete timeline has yet to be determined, some parents said they are happy with the discussions to date.

"I, personally, am very optimistic that they are moving forward," said Laura Wilkins, a parent of two and the middle school PTO president. "To me, it seems like they're being very upfront and honest and moving forward in the right direction."

A timeline, at this point, "is something that's just so hard to pin down," she said.

Berenato said next steps on the project wouldn't take place until a new superintendent is in place. The school board is expected to hire a superintendent by the year's end.