HUNTINGTON -- The Cabell County Board of Education approved a contract with ZMM Architects Tuesday night at its board meeting.

The firm will be the architect on record for the proposed Enslow-Beverly Hills middle school project and also serve as the architect for a handful of other county projects.

Assistant Superintendent Mike O'Dell said ZMM will be part of a design review committee comprised of parents and community members from both Enslow and Beverly Hills middle schools.

But the biggest news surrounding the proposed consolidation is a $499,410 grant from the School Building Authority that was announced late last week. The money, combined with $150,000 of local funds, will pay for first-floor bathrooms, a sprinkler system and an elevator at Beverly Hills, all things that are lacking at the school.

The awarding of the grant also calls into question the county's intentions for the school and possibly the proposed consolidation. The money, said SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin, can only be used to renovate Beverly Hills if it remains a school that serves students.

"(Cabell County Schools) cannot use this money on a building that won't be there," Manchin said, adding that he was told the current Beverly Hills facility could become the new consolidated middle school.

O'Dell confirmed that is a possibility, but he also said it is one of a number of sites the review committee and ZMM will look at.

He also said no matter what happens with the two middle schools, the Beverly Hills facility will remain in use as a school, likely as a new elementary school.

"Structurally, it is a sound building," O'Dell said. "It's our intention to keep that building and use it for a long time."

Earlier this year, Superintendent William Smith and O'Dell said on record at board meetings that the next project would be Peyton Elementary. It is possible that if a new location is selected and the middle schools are consolidated, Peyton and another elementary school could be calling the current Beverly Hills Middle School home.

Although there are still a lot of decisions to be made by the board, O'Dell said he feels confident he can get an application for funds for a new middle school submitted to the SBA by the end of the year or early spring. And, based on Cabell County Schools' use of time and money on the current projects, Manchin said he sees no reason the SBA wouldn't approve it.

"The people of Cabell County have sent a clear message that they value education and new facilities," Manchin said. "It's hard to speculate what we would do, but their track record and willingness to contribute ... Cabell has done an outstanding job."