93,000 Sq Ft Option Discussed—

Still No School Board Decision On NHS Expansion Plans

By Kendra Bobowick

School expansion plans for Newtown High School are still up in the air following Tuesday night’s meeting where Board of Education members decided to wait for more information to help them make a decision.

Expressing caution was Vice Chairman Lisa Schwartz.

“I would still like as much information as possible before making any judgments,” she said after listing to more than an hour of discussion exploring yet another variation to expansion plans.

Adding to the list of possibilities is another configuration beyond the most recently received Option E, involving a multistory addition to the existing high school. As of a March 7 meeting, Option E detailed three versions ranging from approximately 66,000 to 71,000 to 76,000 square feet. This week’s meeting explored a 93,000-square-foot variation.

Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff explained the recent jump in size.

“The state will allow our projection numbers to be higher and will allow us to make additions bigger and still receive reimbursement,” Dr Pitkoff said.

As a result of conversations this week with state officials, school architects then worked with these higher enrollment projections and came back with Tuesday night’s proposal.

The Fletcher Thompson architectural firm representative Joe Costa spoke about state reimbursement potential saying essentially that square footage could increase to roughly 93,000 in an “allowable addition.”

“There would be no problem accepting higher numbers,” he said.

The catch is the cost.

“As the square footage increases, the price rises accordingly,” Mr Costa said. The Option E versions span costs of $35.8 to $37.7, to $39.7 million, translating to $22.6, $23.4, and $24.2 million after reimbursements. Mr Pitkoff confirmed that a “very rough, back-of-the-envelope” estimate for a 93,000-square-foot addition, after reimbursement, would be in the low $30 million range.

As discussions progress, the state’s June 30 deadline for the project approaches.

“That’s when the clock starts ticking for the state,” Dr Pitkoff said.

Newtown may not necessarily miss its window of opportunity to submit detailed project plans. Although the school board members have not selected a plan, Dr Pitkoff remains optimistic saying, “I would like to think that the board would make a decision on a proposal prior to June 30.”

With a conflicting opinion, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said, “It will not be ready for June 30; it’s dead.” He is certain that this school capital project final application will not be ready for submission by June 30.

The board has neither selected an option, nor “ruled anything out,” said Dr Pitkoff. “They have been focusing on fine tuning Option E,” however. The town only stands to loose reimbursement funds if plans exceed the state’s guidelines, he said.

Offering encouragement for the increased scope, board member Paul Mangiafico said, “We should look at an addition that looks at all benefits the state is willing to give us. We should not leave anything on the table, but capture every dollar we can.”

Inquiries about student ratios and cost estimates again pre-empted any decision on plans for increasing high school facilities. Mr Mangiafico also aired his misgivings by blasting the plan’s estimated 25 students per classroom.

“The capacity issue is something I have real concerns about,” he said. “Our average size classroom in high school is 22.2 students.” Figures for next year are projected at 21.9 students per class.

Regarding the drop in number, Mr Mangiafico said, “Directionally, this is the way we want to go. We want an addition to reduce class size, not max it out, that’s fundamentally wrong.”

Further, he said, “We’re asked to look at additions [that are] instantly bringing us to 25 per classroom; why we should go down that road? I am very uncomfortable with this.”

Insisting on more information, Mr Mangiafico said, “We shouldn’t rush to judgment to put on an addition that by design is for 25 students [per classroom].”

Board member Thomas Gissen voiced additional concerns. Parking spaces would have to be sacrificed to accommodate an addition with more square footage, Mr Gissen noted. The information prompted speculation about a fourth story rather than Options E’s planned three floors.

However, Mr Costa explained that anything more than three floors poses a travel-time issue for students [moving between classes]. The distances would be time prohibitive, he said.

Board member David Nanavaty asked, “Could we put 93,000 square feet in that area?”

Mr Costa’s answer was yes, with a catch.

“It would be significantly bigger,” he said. He also inquired, “What would you put in that space” until enrollment projections caught up with the square footage?

Mr Mangiafico also worked some calculations of his own as far as dollars per square foot for each option, saying, “All are significantly below Option E.”

“The best way to answer your question Paul, is that designs are conceptual and show many arrangements of spaces,” Mr Costa said.

Mr Mangiafico then listed his calculations compared to various options. His estimates ranged upward from $400 per square foot; he noted that Option E is higher, landing in the $500-per-square-foot range.

Mr Costa replied, “I can’t speak to some discrepancies because I am not sure what you compared your estimates to.” He assured board members that their estimates were based on data from recently bid projects. The subject dropped without conclusive explanations as the board followed Mr Mangiafico to the matter of class sizes.

Option E entails a new addition along the south side of the school, adjacent to the gymnasium. The project would add several classrooms, a satellite cafeteria with a multipurpose stage, and a satellite kitchen.

Areas currently housing graphic arts, auto shop, culinary, child development, and music would be expanded and renovated. The option also adds 100 parking spaces to the high school.

The three-story expansion would provide an additional 66,000 square feet to accommodate a capacity of up to 2,100 students at a cost of $35,824,876. Representatives of Fletcher Thompson provided data that the school could be further expanded by adding four additional classrooms to the scheme that would allow for a capacity of 2,200 students, providing 71,000 square feet at a cost of $37,570,141.

The proposal has the capability to expand up to 76,000 square feet to accommodate 2,300 students at a cost of $39,738,906, according to architects.

Newtown would be eligible to receive up to 32.8 percent in state reimbursements, bringing the estimated cost to the town to just over $22 million for a 66,000-square-foot expansion, $23 million for a 71,000-square-foot expansion and $24 million for a 76,000-square-foot expansion.

 

On The Record

Members of We Care About Newtown (WECAN) were present at the Tuesday evening meeting to request the Board of Education to delay a final decision on the high school expansion.

WECAN representative Po Murray said, “I am asking you to delay your vote on a proposed addition to Newtown High School until a long-term plan for the future space needs of the entire school district is developed.”

She further explained, “We believe that deferring a vote will provide you with an opportunity to solidify a plan addressing the future high school overcrowding and district space needs…”

WECAN members also expressed their reservations about some aspects of Options E, and submitted their questions to the school board and are awaiting a reply.

Concluding her comments, Ms Murray said, “We are counting on you to make a decision by design, not by default.”

The recently formed WECAN is a group of Newtown residents who advocate a long-term, educationally sound decision for the town’s future educational space needs. In a recent press release, the group insisted that, “There is no reason for the board to rush into a vote.”