Facilities Director John Barlow delivered a summer facilities update and spoke about future years in the district’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) at Board of Education’s (BOE) Wednesday, September 3 meeting.

Barlow said that the district had a “very busy” summer. He added that they kept a lot of work in-house with the district’s maintenance department, which saved them a substantial amount of money in some of this summer’s projects.

When it came to discussing the projects, Barlow said he would “start where the problems did” — Newtown High School’s (NHS) roof.

Barlow and the maintenance department discovered a long tear in the roof over the school’s auditorium during a mid-November inspection. They did emergency repairs to the area over winter break.

He and his team kept that momentum going over the summer by replacing approximately three acres of roofing for the building’s A, B, and C-wings.

NHS Principal Kimberly Longobucco previously told The Newtown Bee that the roof was over ten years past its life expectancy date. This was especially apparent in how the building suffered from leaks, something Longobucco said they dealt with on a near daily basis.

Barlow said they are approximately $150,000 under budget on this particular project. This also included the addition of four new skylights, along with plumbing upgrades.

The next summer project Barlow discussed was the replacement of the Head O’Meadow Elementary School (HOM) roof.

He called it a similar situation to the NHS roof, stating that they both have a warranty of 32 years. Theoretically, the roofs will go over 40 years before they have to be replaced.

Barlow said they initially looked at a roof restoration for HOM, but after further analysis, determined they could install a new roof under where the solar panel installation is going.

“There’s a solar panel installation is going ... so it’s just a matter of them completing the installation of the solar and then tying it in,” Barlow said.

He said it is about a $17,500 annual payment back to the BOE for the lease on the roof, along with virtual net metering. This project came at about $60,000 under budget.

Barlow moved on to talk about Newtown Middle School (NMS), which had several projects over the summer.

The first thing he highlighted was the building’s new outdoor garden classroom, made possible by a $35,544 grant awarded by School-Based Health Alliance.

Barlow also said the maintenance department ordered 30 air conditioners and had 20 of them installed as of September 3. They started by identifying the classrooms with the most immediate need alongside NMS Principal Jim Ross. The rest of the air conditioners will be installed before next year.

In the installation of the air conditioners, Barlow said there were possibly some incidental costs with an electrician. Right now, those costs are at only $1,500 — they had to run two circuits to two classrooms in the building.

Barlow said there might be more incidental electric costs in the future, potentially with the school’s C-wing.

The maintenance department also updated flooring in certain areas at NHS and Middle Gate Elementary School (MGS).

The district’s Program for Adaptive Learning (PAL) was moved from MGS to Sandy Hook Elementary School (SHS).

The program provides one-to-one support for students with significant disabilities and communication challenges. However, it was held in very close quarters and did not provide a great environment for teachers or students.

The move to SHS, Barlow said, provided students considerably more space to work with.

The district’s preschool was moved to Reed Intermediate School.

Afterwards, Barlow talked to BOE members about future CIP projects. BOE Chair Alison Plante said their main focus last year and this year has been on finalizing the year one CIP projects.

As years 2028-2035 are placeholders, Barlow primarily spoke about projects set for 2027. Next year includes some of the more immediate needs for the district, according to Barlow.

These include: an oil tank removal and parking lot replacement for HOM, millwork replacement and bathroom renovations for MGS, and pool restoration, pool air handler unit replacement, oil tank removal, and fire/intrusion alarm replacements for NHS.

CIP Additions

BOE members also unanimously voted to approve additions to the 2026 CIP. The plan now includes the replacement of Newtown High School’s F-wing chiller and the C-wing & D-wing winter rooftop unit (RTU) replacement, provided the total cost does not exceed a $2 million grant allocation.

Barlow shared that Grants Specialist Judit DeStefano applied for a reimbursement grant for the district’s HVAC projects at Hawley Elementary School, HOM, and the high school.

The money went to the town and was going to be used for debt service. However, Barlow said they were told the money could not entirely be used for that.

“So we were told that we were given $2 million to use for our building projects,” Barlow explained.

This could not have come at a better time for the district, he said, because of issues with the high school’s chiller. The school’s roof replacement also required a program to replace aged out HVAC equipment on its roof, along with other district buildings.

“With these $2 million dollars, we now have the ability to get both of those projects done,” Barlow said.

Plante said that these were two items that were always in the district’s CIP, but were originally years out.

After the unanimous vote by the BOE, the additions to the 2026 CIP will go on to the Board of Finance and then the Legislative Council for full approval.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.