New high school in the works
District officials to discuss project specifics as grant deadline approaches
NEW FAIRFIELD — The district has a few more weeks to apply for a state grant for what would be the town’s most expensive project to date.
Selectmen, finance and school boards have unanimously endorsed the $109.4 million plan to build a new high school and an early learning academy for students at Consolidated School.
Conditions in the high school and Consolidated are so poor that renovating or completing isolated projects would be almost as, if not more, expensive, especially since the town would see little state reimbursement, said Rich Sanzo, director of business and operations.
“There is significant work that needs to occur,” he said. “The best option moving forward is to build new.”
The school board is expected to approve the education specifications, which are required for the application and describe what spaces or activities would be in the buildings, at its Thursday meeting, Sanzo said.
He anticipates other documents will be ready to submit by the June 30 deadline. A town meeting will be held on the projects in September, followed by a referendum sometime in the fall.
“It’s time. We need to correct those deficiencies in both schools for our students, our staff and certainly our teachers.”
First Selectman Pat Del Monaco
The plan is to build a
$79.3 million high school on the site of the existing campus and construct a
$30.1 million addition onto Meeting House Hill School. Pre-kindergarten through first grade would move out of Consolidated and into the addition, while second-graders would go into an existing wing at Meeting House.
With the state grant, the high school would cost the town $59.5 million, while the early learning academy would cost $23.4 million.
School officials were already considering the projects when the New England Association of Schools and Colleges placed the high school on warning for its accreditation because of its poor facilities.
The high school could be put on probation or lose its accreditation—affecting post-secondary opportunities for students—if the district does not address these problems.
This adds urgency to the project, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said.
“It’s time,” she said. “We need to correct those deficiencies in both schools for our students, our staff and certainly our teachers.”
In public meetings, some residents have said the projects are too expensive. The average taxpayer would pay $210 more in taxes in 2022 and again in 2024 thanks to the projects, preliminary estimates show. Tax increases during the other years would be not be as large.
Other residents have said at meetings they support the proposal.
“I would be embarrassed to send my grandchildren to these schools, especially the high school,” said Gary Mummert, a retired resident whose five grandchildren do not go to New Fairfield schools. “Meeting House is great, but the high school sends a message to our kids that we really, really don't care what kind of shabby we throw at them.”
Tours of the buildings will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. June 19, as well as various times throughout the summer and early fall.
Some have gone into previous tours skeptical of the proposal, but left realizing how necessary the projects are, Sanzo said.
“Most everyone that has attended the tours walks away understanding while it’s a large investment that needs to be made it in the building, it’s the best investment and the best use of tax dollars,” he said.
Consolidated and the high school suffer from water leaks and poor energy efficiency and handicap accessibility. At Consolidated, the roof needs repair and foundation in part of the building is sagging. The wood shop at the high school is not properly ventilated, while the auditorium’s slope is severe, among other problems.
“It's really the combination of all of the deficiencies together that add the urgency to the project,” Del Monaco said.