The new William Fleming High School will probably have a track in front, an arts area close to William Ruffner Middle School, and a cafeteria between the arts and theater areas and the gym.

That was the most popular of four potential layouts presented by Richard Rife with Rife & Wood Architects of Roanoke and Barbara Crum with Perkins & Will Architects of Atlanta at a meeting Tuesday evening. About 35 people - many Fleming teachers and other staff members - attended the meeting in the school's cafeteria.

Rife also serves as the architect for the new Patrick Henry High School on Grandin Road Southwest, which is under construction and scheduled to be completed in 2007.

The William Fleming layouts will be presented again in the cafeteria at 6:30 p.m. June 2.

The layouts were developed based on feedback Rife and Crum received at several meetings with committees that focused on various aspects of design - academics and curriculum, athletics and community use, fine arts and music, administration and security, media and technology, and school plant and grounds. They also met with Fleming students Tuesday afternoon.

Amazingly, Rife said, everyone seemed to agree on what the new school needs.

It will have a clearly marked front door, something the current school lacks. Its bus drop-off area will be separate from its student parking area for safety. Its arts area will be close to Ruffner - and eventually could be connected to the middle school by a breezeway - because many students walk back and forth between the schools.

Fleming will be converted from its current campus-style layout to a courtyard style, with one large building. Its 39 classrooms could be separated into three learning communities, and it could be two stories tall to make it more cost effective and to save land for athletics.

Because Fleming is on such a large tract of land, most of the new school can be built before the old school buildings are torn down. The one building that won't be demolished is Lawson Hall, a fact that raised concerns for some people.

"I'm afraid that, visually speaking, it's just not going to fit in," said Ann Charlton, who teaches English at Fleming. "We're going to have a beautiful school, and then we're going to have Lawson."

Lawson Hall is the school's newest building and serves as its technical building, but is "in very poor shape," she said.

Rife and Crum said they share her concern and hope to be able to incorporate Lawson into the new school's design.

Other features in the 283,000-square-foot-building include a theater to seat 450 people, three practice courts for basketball, an outdoor dining area, a separate entrance for the arts and theater area, improved television and video capabilities, and a health center for teens.

Construction on the new school is scheduled to begin in June 2007 and be completed by June 2010 on the same Ferncliff Avenue Northwest site as the current school, which was built nearly 40 years ago.

The new school will be built for 1,450 students and is budgeted at $44.75 million, including planning, construction, and furniture and equipment.

Fleming Principal Hallie Carr said she's thrilled about the idea of a new school, even though she won't be serving as principal there.

Carr is stepping down at the end of this school year and on July 1 will become the Roanoke school system's director of adjunct secondary programs and adult education.

"It will be wonderful to see it come to fruition," she said of the new school. "I think what has pleased me as much as anything is the participation, the concern they have for making sure we have the best school possible."

WILLIAM FLEMING HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE

November - Conceptual design plan completed

November 2006 - Construction documents developed

May 2007 - Project bid awarded

June 2007 - Construction begins

July 2010 - Construction finishes