Deadline looms for decision on new high school

NORTH BRANFORD — The town has until Nov. 15 to apply for state aid this year if it is to proceed with commissioning a new high school to replace its current 1960s era building, but some local leaders are hesitant.

Despite a strong push to move forward with that option from district leaders, some of the town’s top officials have shared hesitancy about funding the project in the current economic climate, suggesting that the town instead consider extensive maintenance on the current school, and citing uncertainty around what learning will look like due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker and Board of Education Chairwoman Shawna Papa Holzer continue to contend that a new building is the best option.

“Building a new high school is the best option in my opinion,” Papa Holzer said. “Most [Town Council] members understand how important a new high school is to our community as a whole and our children. I'm hoping they will vote in favor of a new building.”

Schoonmaker told the Town Council as much at a recent meeting, arguing that the gym, media center and library all need significant work to accommodate 21st century learning, according to a broadcast of the event available on Totoket TV’s Facebook page.

During the meeting, Al Rose, who serves on the town’s Ad-Hoc Design/Review Committee, presented the council with several options for addressing the many issues with the current high school building. Those ranged from a $20 million maintenance project to a $60 million new school.

While the town would receive minimal state aid for a maintenance project, Councilor Rose Marie Angeloni said at the meeting, with state funding the new school option would carry a net cost to the town of between $35 million and $38 million.

The current school, which dates back to the 1960s, suffers from poor heating, basement flooding and dilapidated bathrooms, among

other problems.

While Town Councilor Walter Goad Jr. agreed that certain issues, such as the bathrooms and heating, must be addressed, he expressed skepticism over commissioning a new school building, according to the video.

“I can’t imagine building a new school at this time, for this amount of money, in this town,” said Goad, a Republican. “If we spent $15 million, we’d end up with, I would think, a beautiful school, and you could take another $5 million and put a face lift on the whole thing.”

Goad contended that there were no known problems with the school’s foundation, adding that he favored hiring a structural inspector to make sure that was the case.

Initially, the ad-hoc committee had explored the option of building a new school next to the current one.

But, Rose told the council, the soil samples showed the proposed location was too swampy, indicating that the most viable option was to build the new school in the same spot as the old one.

If it were to opt for a new school, the town would “go through the work of putting through a brand-new foundation that’ll be just like the foundation we have that has no problems,” according to Goad.

Goad especially was concerned with authorizing the project amid economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t think you could pick a worse year,” he said.

He also contended that the future of education was uncertain.

“What if ... we spend $40 million, and a new 21st century school is not going to school anymore, it’s Zooming in all the time?” he said.

After Goad shared his concerns, Councilor Thomas Zampano agreed that some issues at the high school must be addressed.

In terms of further decisions, however, Zampano, a Republican, thinks the town needs to “slow down a bit.”

But council member Lou Paternoster, a Democrat, responded by saying that COVID-19 likely won’t be around forever. He urged the council to move forward with addressing the school’s issues.

“All I got to say is we owe the kids of this town better than we’re giving them,” he said, adding that while he doesn’t want to pay more taxes, “these kids have to go to a good school.”

“Let’s get these projects going and moving,” he said.

Paternoster did not specify which school plan he favored and declined to comment when asked for clarification Friday.

The Town Council did not vote on the issue. Its next meeting is slated for Oct. 20, according to North Branford’s online calendar.