Date: Fri 02-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

school-renovations

Full Text:

School Officials Brace For A Year Of Disruptions And Inconvenience

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Students and staff at Newtown High School may want to begin preparing

themselves for a year of inconvenience, if not chaos, as the school begins a

two-year period of transition.

Earlier this summer, the high school's $25 million renovation and addition

project got underway, and, by the start of school, construction is expected to

be in high gear.

Administrators say limited parking, an unattractive appearance to the school's

interior, congestion on the athletic fields, and an unusual amount of noise

means people will have to make adjustments.

"Everyone is going to have to bend a little," explained NHS Assistant

Principal Jules Triber. "It's going to be a very different year. We'll need to

modify, but in the long run, I think it will all be worth it."

While the scope of its project won't be nearly as large, Hawley School will

also be under construction this coming school year and students can expect

many changes. Principal Linda Siciliano predicts the temporary alterations to

the school will take time to get used to, but feels the best way to overcome

the changes is flexibility.

School Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Dom Posca said students and staff at

both NHS and Hawley going to learn very quickly how much the normal school day

can be affected when their school remains open while projects of this

magnitude go on around it.

"It's going to be chaotic, but I think we can do it," he said. "It's going to

be a long road, but we'll work it out."

Newtown High School

Though this year's construction will be extensive, NHS administrators expect

it to be less obtrusive than next year, when the major work to the existing

school takes place. For now, however, the majority of the work will be in

building the two new additions, including a three-story, 73,000-square-foot

structure to house the cafeteria and several classrooms on the north side of

the school.

Already, workers have removed trees on the north side of the school where the

immense building and expanded faculty parking lot will eventually be located.

Also expected to be built this coming year is a large half-gymnasium behind

the school.

Workers are also replacing the NHS parking lot, and though it should be

completed by the start of school, fall sports practices are expected to be

hindered. Mr Posca said people will be kept off the parking lot until August

19.

Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian has been busy looking for

alternative fields in order to allow the teams to prepare for their seasons.

"We're shifting as much as we can to accommodate everybody," she explained

earlier this month. "It's been nerve-wracking trying to figure out where to

put everybody."

Mrs Kasbarian said the girls' soccer team will play on the Fairfield Hills

field, but was still unsure where the other teams would set up camp, including

Bob Zito's football team.

School officials are also concerned about the NHS Marching Band's annual

August camp. It may have to take place at a site off the NHS campus.

The parking problems don't end there. According to Mr Triber, a significant

number of parking spaces will be lost due to the construction and that has

administrators concerned. The total number of spots to be lost is still

undetermined, but the staff parking lot to the north of the existing building

will be unavailable as will certain spots behind the school where the gym is

to be erected. Some parking spaces will be made up with the removal of the

center island near the entrance to the school.

Anticipating the parking problem, the NHS leadership council recently drew up

a proposal to limit the number of cars at the school each day. The proposal

guarantees spots for teachers and seniors, but parking for juniors will be

limited, with only a percentage of them receiving spots based on a lottery.

Mr Triber said it's not yet known how many spaces will be available to juniors

at the start of school.

"Every space counts this year," he said.

Mr Triber expects it will be difficult for people to get used to the

inconvenience brought about by the construction work, especially those who

have become accustomed to doing things the same way each year.

The school's summer staff has been prohibited from entering the building since

early July as workers remove asbestos from the flooring. In fact, all floor

tiles in the school have been torn up for the asbestos abatement. For now,

nothing will be put down in place of the tiles and Mr Triber said certain

sections of the school will be left with concrete floors.

"They tell me it looks pretty different in there with just concrete floors,"

he noted.

Mr Triber said some parts of the building will be without ceiling tiles due to

the electrical and duct work.

Hawley School

Earlier this month, heavy construction equipment began rolling onto the Hawley

School grounds in preparation for a two-year addition and renovation project

expected to cost about $4 million.

Mrs Siciliano said she doesn't expect there to be too much major work done

inside the building during the school year, though some interior work may be

done during vacation time. The major work will be done on the new addition,

which will include an auditorium, library and several classrooms.

Last month, the Hawley School portable building, also known as the "annex,"

was knocked down, forcing the building's three classrooms to be moved inside.

Two of the classrooms will be located in the Hawley library, while the third

will be moved to the computer lab. In the meantime, the school's library has

been moved to the auditorium and the computers will be moved to individual

classrooms.

Custodians are still talking about the difficulty they had in moving all the

"annex" furniture up several flights of stairs to their new locations.

The Hawley principal said the school's parking lot will likely lose 21 spaces

due to the work.

"Parking will be constrained this year so we'll need to be flexible," she

said.

Mrs Kasbarian has moved Pop Warner football, normally played behind Hawley, to

the middle school. Men's slo-pitch softball has been moved to Fairfield Hills.

Mrs Siciliano said she's looking forward to next summer, when all the Hawley

School windows will be replaced with windows reflecting the school's original

design. "That will preserve the character," she explained.

Though the back of Hawley School will be used for the storage of heavy

equipment, Mrs Siciliano said the fields will still be available to the

public.