Town Seeks A Clearer Idea Of

A New School’s Cost And Location

By Larissa Lytwyn

At the November 3 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff reported that First Selectman Herb Rosenthal had said that school development on the Fairfield Hills area adjacent to Reed Intermediate School was not possible.

The Fairfield Hills master plan does, however, have school development area allocated around Kent House. And Mr Rosenthal explained this week that there are a lot of options available in how the Kent House can be developed.

“Kent House can be scaled down and developed, or completely rebuilt,” he said.

During the November 3 board meeting, Dr Pitkoff also noted that the Board of Finance had marked the cost of such a project at $10 million in the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

“Over and over, the Board of Education put down ‘TBD,’ to be determined, on how much money could be allocated [for a potential school development project],” said Mr Rosenthal. “The $10 million was a placeholder amount. It is not a cap.”

Mr Rosenthal said that the Board of Finance would, ideally, like to keep costs down.

“The Board of Finance never told anyone they only had $10 million [to use],” said Board of Finance Chairman John Kortze.

A proposal for a high school academy was first submitted to the finance board two years ago, with the cost marked “TBD.”

“We couldn’t get any additional information,” said Mr Kortze, “and understandably so, because [at that point] they didn’t have an architect or anything like that in place. But we also felt a little uneasy that they wanted to build a new structure within the next couple of years. At the time [of the original proposal], it was just three years out.”

Since its initial submission, the project has moved several times. Last fall, Dr Pitkoff formed the High School Space Needs Committee to address the school’s overcrowding problem. Also, the committee recently began consulting with architect Jim Lawler to come up with more precise cost estimates.

Currently, the school has 1,622 students; the building is considered at capacity at 1,600, according to Dr Pitkoff.

However, the latest state projection of enrollment shows a smaller number in eight years than originally estimated.

“According to the report we received two years ago, in 2012, we were expected to have 1,965 students,” explained the superintendent. “However, in the updated projection I received this past October 29, it was indicated that during the 2012-13 yea, we would have 1,876 students.

The latest projections, which go out two years further, shows that in 2014-15, there will be an estimated 1,888 students.

Two years ago, a new 500-student capacity school building was estimated at $25 million. That estimate has now climbed to approximately $28 million.

However, Dr Pitkoff was quick to point out that, considering the slightly reduced projections, a 500-capacity building may not be necessary.

“It is the Board of Finance’s job to understand and plan for town expenditures,” said Mr Kortze. “The reason that we voted, unanimously, to put $10 million dollars in is that we knew that we had to do a project in a relatively short period of time. We also had to consider the issue of open space and current indebtedness that we have.”

He continued, “I completely understand, as does the Board of Finance, that it’s hard to get your arms around [the projected cost of the high school project].”

He said the issue needed to be discussed further.

“The $10 million can be increased,” he said. But, he said, it was crucial to consider the full impact on the town of spending $28 million for the project.

To access the Fairfield Hills master plan, clink on the “Fairfield Hills master plan” link at www.newtown-ct.gov.