New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Leaky roofs fixed first, then ‘mission critical’ improvements in schools
A year after the district scrapped the construction of a new West Woods Elementary school building, the town is moving forward with a plan to put nearly $1.6 million toward roof and window projects there and at Dunbar Hill Elementary School.
HAMDEN — The planned work at two of the town’s elementary schools is a “critical” investment, according to Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler.
A year after the district scrapped the construction of a new West Woods Elementary school building, the town is moving forward with a plan to put nearly $1.6 million toward roof and window projects there and at Dunbar Hill Elementary School.
Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said the projects are “critical to maintaining our community’s investment in our school facilities.”
The Legislative Council unanimously approved an ordinance reallocating funds from old capital accounts to cover the project costs, which officials said would be supplemented by an additional $3.2 million from the state.
That brings the total project value to about $4.8 million.
Council members lauded the proposal during a public discussion.
“It really does seem like you guys have done a lot of work to get the most out of our money as humanly possible,” council President Michael McGarry said at the meeting, which was held over Zoom.
After the council asked the district to find ways to be more
fiscally responsible and to determine the schools’ highest priorities, the district put together a fiveyear capital plan that represents a “scaling back” of previous goals but outlines “mission critical” improvements, according to Julie Smith, Hamden Public Schools’ director of arts, culture and special projects.
“Instead of stuff that are wants, we’re doing stuff that are needs,” Smith said of the plan, which the Board of Education approved last month. “I think [the board] had to make some really tough decisions and, you know, had to give up some projects that we would all have loved to have seen. But, again, if you can’t use the buildings, then there’s no point.”
The five-year plan has an expected expense of approximately $27.3 million, according to a document outlining it. The document, provided by the district, indicates Hamden would contribute some $18.4 million while receiving a bit less than $8.9 million from the state.
Chief Operating Officer Tom Ariola said unspent BOE bond proceeds will be reallocated to contribute to the town’s portion.
In paying for the roof and window projects at West Woods and Dunbar Hill, for example, the district intends to draw funds from 47 capital accounts, according to the ordinance, which indicates funds for those projects were authorized in 2015 and 2017.
Originally appropriated for investments ranging from door repairs to new tables to roof and floor work, officials say the statuses and fates of those projects vary.
Alternative to a new school
While the Legislative Council in 2016 approved nearly $24.2 million for a new West Woods building, it lost state reimbursement late last year after missing the deadline to start construction.
The delay came as the expected cost of the new building proved to be nearly $8 million higher than what originally had been allocated.
While the district looked into changing the construction plan to lower the cost, that iteration of the plan “didn’t accomplish what [the district] wanted,” according to Ariola, who said “they scaled it down so significantly” that the project wasn’t worth it.
The town also would still have had to allocate additional funds for the scaleddown version of the project, and the state’s deadline came and went before it did so.
While the decision to nix the project was made last year, the Legislative Council officially deauthorized the $24.2 million appropriation this week, an action Smith called a matter of “housekeeping.”
With a new school out of the picture, a new roof will make a major difference in addressing water intrusion at West Woods, according to Smith, who added that the current roof dates back to 1973.
Roof and window work at West Woods forms part of the BOE’s five-year plan, she said, noting that repairs of the facility’s plumbing system, conducted this year, already have alleviated water intrusion in the bathrooms.
“With a new roof and new windows the school should be in fantastic shape,” Smith said.
The district also has received around $1.1 million in state Alliance Grant funding that it hopes to use to replace West Woods’ HVAC system, according to Ariola.
Two schools to benefit
The Legislative Council in 2019 rejected a request to allocate $17.6 million for like-new renovations and a new science and technology wing at Dunbar Hills Elementary.
Major construction projects at other schools did win funds. Those were part of the district’s Reimagine, Restructure, Results Initiative, known as 3R, which is meant to address decreasing state education funding, declining enrollment and racial imbalance in Hamden schools.
At the same time, the district has had to “scale down” its plans for West Woods and Dunbar Hill, said BOE member Walter Morton IV.
“We realized that there’s not the financial ability to bond out and do larger project at West Woods and Dunbar,” he said.
But Morton, who also is chairman the board’s finance committee, was happy the town will undertake the roof and window projects at the facilities.
“I’m satisfied,” he said. “In light of the town’s finances, it was looking pretty questionable whether we could get something done.”
Ariola aims to apply for the $2.7 million state reimbursement the projects by early January and begin construction over the summer, he said.
“We have to at least shoot for that right now.”
The town’s contribution
To fund the town’s $1.6 million contribution to the roof and window work, Hamden will not have to borrow any additional funds, Ariola said.
Instead, the town will draw unspent bond proceeds from nearly 50 BOE accounts.
Some of the projects for which those accounts were allocated will still be included in the five-year capital plan, while others no longer are priorities, according to Ariola.
Work at Church Street Elementary School and Shepherd Glen Elementary School, for example, may no longer be necessary with both facilities slated to close under the 3R plan, he said.
Other accounts were for projects that would have been over budget and thus needed reassessment, according to Ariola.
Officials did not discount the possibility of revisiting some projects down the road.
“It’s really just a plan – some broad idea of where you want go,” Morton said of the five-year capital plan. “It certainly can be changed based on the needs of a situation.”
After the allocation of the $1.6 million, the BOE would have around $1.3 million left in unspent bond funds, Ariola said, adding that he hopes the town will not have to go out for any additional bonding for the first two years of the capital plan.