School Board Approves Contract For Auditorium Seats

By Laurie Borst

On the evening of March 20, the Board of Education unanimously approved a proposal from Merritt Contractors Inc in Bridgeport. Two companies attended a mandatory walk-through of the auditorium and submitted bids.

Merritt Contractors bid for the complete project was $139,000. Bismark Construction Company of Milford submitted a bid of $163,000.

In December, Newtown Middle School administration and parents began a fundraising drive to replace the seats. They had set a goal of $80,000, which was for the cost of the seats only.

The request for bid contained lower-cost alternatives to be considered, including lower quality seats, carpet replacement, removal of the old seats, and removal of the old carpet. The administration had considered costs involved for the district’s maintenance personnel to remove old seats and carpet. If the contractor performs the demolition work and any damage occurs, the costs are carried by the contractor.

Business Director Ron Bienkowski said that he had looked at all the combinations of options and found Merritt was the low bidder.

This project will involve removal of the old seats and carpet, demolition of some concrete to create areas for wheelchair accessibility, electrical requirements, floor lighting, and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for handrails.

Mr Bienkowski gave the board an update on accounts with balances that could be allocated to fund the project. The building and grounds contracted services account has realized $20,000 in savings since hiring a mechanic and phasing out contracts for maintenance.

The modular rental at the high school has approximately $18,000 available for the three months the portables were not being used while the mold situation was resolved. The building and site improvement account has an anticipated $3,000–$4,000 balance.

These savings are approximately $121,000. With the middle school’s fundraising effort yielding $17,795 to date, the funding of $139,000 can be realized. Those who donated the price of a seat to the middle school fundraising effort will have a plaque placed on a seat back.

Board members did express concern regarding the timetable for the demolition, seat delivery and installation, etc. Mr Bienkowski assured them that every effort would be made to not disrupt classes. A completion date will depend on when they go to contract, hopefully by the end of next week.

Transportation Contract

In other matters, the MTM transportation contract negotiations have been completed.

Board member Paul Mangiafico reported, “The negotiations went fine, very cordial. Negotiators on the other side of the table did a fine job, as did everyone.”

The contract results in an adjustment of 1.75 percent upwards to all existing rates in the contract. Wording was amended in the contract to reflect the size of the buses used by the district, including a 35-passenger bus, 18- and 15-passenger vehicles, as well as one single and one double wheelchair vehicles.

Superintendent Evan Pitkoff reported on the progress of the personnel searches the district is conducting. Two candidates have been selected to interview for the assistant superintendent position. Sixty-five applications were received for the building and grounds supervisor. Those have been narrowed to five or six candidates.

For the assistant principal position, the district has received 106 applications. This is an entry-level position for administrators, and very few elementary schools are large enough to require an assistant principal.

Dr Pitkoff announced a collaboration that has been arranged between the district and Southern Connecticut State University to address the shortage of school administrators in the state. Newtown is partnering with New Fairfield, Monroe, and New Milford public schools to help teachers wishing to undertake the coursework for supervision and administration certification.

SCSU will offer a cohort program for teachers in the four towns. Half of the classes must be held at the SCSU campus. Newtown will host the other half, which will shorten the commute and make the program more convenient for those wishing to enroll. The program will run with as few as 12 students and maximum of 20, Dr Pitkoff explained.

Dr Pitkoff said he is encouraging teachers in the district to take advantage of the opportunity to move into administration. Few in the district hold that certification, he added.