South Windsor plans new elementary school
Pleasant Valley facility to house 696 students, open in 2023 at $58 million cost
SOUTH WINDSOR – The third phase of the school system’s 10-year plan has been unveiled and includes a new $58 million Pleasant Valley Elementary School.
The new 99,340-square-foot school will house up to 696 students with 110 preschool children separated by 55 morning students and 55 afternoon students. The building will include a 4,700-square-foot gymnasium and would be built on a 15-acre parcel behind the present school. It will also include new fields, parking and playgrounds.
After about $18 million in state reimbursement for a new school, taxpayers would have to pay the remaining $40 million. If approved at a March 2020 referendum, construction would start in 2022 with the school opening in the fall of 2023.
Superintendent Kate Carter called the third phase of the plan “an important milestone.”
“Long term plans are very difficult to execute and there can be many unforeseeable obstacles,” she said. “I’m so proud that six years in, we remain on schedule and on budget.”
Carter said a lot has changed even in the six years since the plan came out. Enrollment projections in 2013 for the school by 2023-24 school year were 356. Those enrollment numbers have now increased by 340 students to 696.
South Windsor is one of the rare Hartford area school systems where its elementary enrollment is growing. During the 2015-2018 period, the school system grew nearly 12% and Carter noted the town stands in “stark contrast” with other districts. In comparison, West Hartford enrollment dropped by 4%; Glastonbury 2.5% and Farmington 1.9%. South Windsor’s elementary school enrollment is expected to increase from the 1,504 projected in 2013 to 2,347 by 2022-23 school year.
“This is because of the success of the first two phases,” board of education member Rick Stahr said. “The fact is we are building under this extraordinary 10-year plan wonderful schools and really creating great neighborhoods and people are building houses and we are increasing the tax base. South Windsor is a thriving community. It’s a great problem to have. We are growing as a community. Is it a big price tag? Sure, but we are also solving some problems.”
There will be community information presentations and a website, supportsouthwindsorschools.org, has been created to help disseminate information and educate voters on the plan. A new Orchard Hill Elementary School was the first phase completed in 2017. Eli Terry and Philip R. Smith elementary schools are currently under construction and will open in the fall of 2020. School officials note Orchard Hill was done on time and under budget and both new schools are also heading that way.
Board member Beth Esstman said the price tag “feels a little hard to swallow.”
“Until you see the number of students that this facility has to accommodate and that number is very different than all the [other] numbers,” she said. “Anyone whohas been in Pleasant Valley or driven by Pleasant Valley sees this is a need right now and today.
“We’ve worked with people [Colliers International] who have already delivered this community something on time and on budget and that makes it all the more comforting for me,” she added.
Board Chairman Craig Zimmerman said he’s had people in town ask him about “the problem we have.”
“I don’t think we have a problem,” he said. “I just think we have a great challenge. I think what’s happened in town with the interest and people wanting to live here is a great thing…the challenge has been met so far and we will continue to meet it.”
Peter Marteka can be reached at pmarteka@courant.com.