Central Whidbey residents got their first chance to see what the new Coupeville High School may look like. School officials presented drawings of the school during a Thursday evening public meeting.

The drawings show an “E” shaped building where two additional wings and a commons area will be added to the middle school and Performing Arts Center. The middle wing features music and vocational/technical classrooms. The next wing houses high school classrooms. Plans also show an additional commons area where the glass walls provide a way for people to look through the building and into the surrounding prairie.

Marc Gleason, an architect with McGranahan Architects, said the wings put the school on more of a scale with the surrounding area than just building a large building.

“It breaks down the scale so that it is more fitting with structures and farm structures in the area,” Gleason said. A courtyard that can be used by students separates each wing of the new facility.

During construction of the new school, students will remain in the current one. Once construction is finished, work crews will demolish the old high school.

Even though residents saw the new drawings Thursday, many were more concerned about traffic safety near the intersection of South Main Street and Terry Road.

Gleason said a fence will help funnel students to a planned crosswalk south of the intersection.

Molly Hughes, a Coupeville Town Council member, pointed out that students will continue crossing at the intersection before and after school.

Gleason said the new crosswalk wouldn’t serve as a replacement for the intersection but as a way to better control students crossing the street to attend a PE classes held in the gym.

Other concerns raised by people attending the hour-and-a-half meeting ranged from how the school would be used during public events and parking and bus concerns.