Report: Trumbull schools ‘at or past their useful life’

TRUMBULL — The average age of Trumbull schools would enable them to join the AARP, according to a report on on the state of the town’s school buildings.

This week, about 50 school parents and local officials attended a presentation by Hartfordbased Tecton Architects. The talk was geared toward generating ideas for future renovation and improvements of town school buildings.

Jeff Wyszynski of Tecton Architects said many of the school district’s building systems are “either at or past their useful life.”

The company found the average age of the district’s buildings is 55 years, and also noted aging building enclosures and systems, and a lack of completed renovations, he said.

“When you hear useful life, something like a boiler. If a boiler lasts 35 to 40 years, and it’s 60 years (old), it’s past its useful life,” Wyszynski said. “Do you have to replace it? No, but you should start thinking about it and incorporate it into your plan.”

Other issues briefly mentioned by the firm include poor indoor air quality and temperature control at school buildings, along with problems with accessibility for those with disabilities.

Tecton had a series of options for Trumbull, ranging from $197 million to over $350 million.

These options extend many years into the future. For example, one option would be to build a new Hillcrest Middle School, then use the current building as swing space to house students from schools such as Booth Hill and Daniels Farm elementary as those schools undergo renovations.

That option would cost about $197 million, according to the presentation.

Another option would be to build two so-called “academy schools” for fifth- and sixth-grade students, which would create space for both existing middle schools and Trumbull High to enact future renovations. That option would cost about $340 million.

Or, the town could convert Madison to serve fifth and sixth grades, and Hillcrest to serve seventh and eighth grades.

Currently, both Madison and Hillcrest middle schools serve seventh and eighth graders.

“What that does is it pulls your fifth grade from all your elementaries out,” Wyszynski said. “So it still buys you some capacity.”

The schools also could address issues as they arise as part of shortterm capital improvement projects. That option is closest to maintaining status quo.

“Instead of going through the buildings and comprehensively renovating them, you would just go in one year, fix the lights. Go in one year, fix the HVAC,” Wyszynski said. “It’s kind of one at a time.”

Such a plan would cost an estimated $10 million to $14 million each year, he said.

During the meeting, Steven Spillane, a fifth grade teacher and a parent of students at Trumbull High and Daniels Farm elementary, expressed concern with the idea of converting Madison and Hillcrest.

“Just looking through towns similar in population, I couldn’t find one that has a fourth or fifth grade school as big as some of the ones that are proposed here,” Spillane said.

Under the plan, a “reinvented” Madison Middle School would have 1,097 students, while a converted Hillcrest would have 1,137 students.

Rachelle Giordano, a parent of Daniels Farm elementary school children and a Hillcrest student, was wary of shifting students to different schools.

“I have a fifth grader and he’s really excited about Hillcrest, but there’s also some trepidation there,” Giordano said. “And I can’t imagine putting my children through that so many times.”