The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Confusion over Winchester school project funding
WINSTED — Gov. Ned Lamont’s recent mention of Winchester as being among the communities receiving state money for school projects created confusion after local officials learned the town’s project was not approved for funding.
The $17 million renovation of the shuttered Mary P. Hinsdale School is the only school project under way in the town and officials will be seeking state money to help pay the cost.
The State Bond Commission approved $200 million for school construction projects when it met July 21 and while the town of Winchester was noted by Lamont at the start of the meeting as among those included for state funding, it was not in fact part of the 2019 package, two officials said. The video of the meeting can be seen at https:// bit.ly/39BhBHT.
The Register Citizen reported the money was awarded after the meeting.
Though Winsted applied for $7 million in state bonding to be used for a $17 million renovation plan for Hinsdale School, it may be months before the town’s school renovation project funding will be considered, because it must pass through the hands of the legislature first, state Rep. Jay Case said.
Winchester Town Manager Robert Geiger said he spoke with Case the day after the bond commission meeting and was told the funding was not yet approved.
“I came in this morning, and after speaking with our finance director, we watched the bond commission meeting (online),” Geiger said on July 22. “They were approving (school construction projects) for the previous year, 2019, not for this year.”
Geiger immediately called Case, who first said “Yes, Winchester got the money,” Geiger said. “I wanted to be sure, so I asked him to confirm it. He called me back and said we didn’t get it.”
Max Reiss, director of communication for Lamont, said, when asked about the bond meeting, that he did not know why the governor named Winchester. A message also was left seeking comment from OPM spokesman Chris McClure.
Case said he contacted Lamont’s office, also the day after the bond commission meeting, and was told by the deputy chief that all school construction funding requests are required to go through a legislative process for approval.
“We approved (projects) for 2019, not for 2020,” Case said. “The $200 million is for projects that are going on now.”
Case said that the bonding process has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
For a district to be considered for money for the next fiscal year, it must first hold a referendum and gain approval from residents, Case said. After the referendum, the district must file the construction project plans with the state Office of Policy and Management.
Because Winsted is a priority school district, meaning the schools are part of the state’s free and reduced lunch program, it is put on a list for a priority committee in the governor’s office, he said. That list is marked “preapproved.” If the school district is not a priority district, it likely waits longer to be considered.
After being placed in committee in the governor’s office, the funding request is reviewed and sent to the state legislature. The legislature reviews it and votes on it, usually on the last day of the legislative session. The legislature then sends the funding request to the state bond commission to await final approval. Bond commission meetings are called by the governor’s office; there are no set dates for the meetings, Case said.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the legislature has not been in session and the process of reviewing funding requests for 2020 never happened, Case said.
Lamont and the bond commission’s approval of $200 million on July 21 was for 2019 projects and the money is part of “progress payments,” meaning that the legislature approved the funding last year, but the bond commission had not yet, Case said.
“The step where Winsted is right now, (waiting for the legislature) because of COVID-19, is usually done on the last day of our legislative session,” Case said. “We didn’t have one. We’re still waiting to do our session.”
The plan to renovate Hinsdale remains in place, but what the state decides could impact the cost, Geiger said.
“We could go ahead and borrow the whole ($17.43 million) but we’re not going to do that,” he said. “We still need to do the architectural drawings, so that when we do get the funding, we can pull the trigger on bids.