P&Z Endorses Installation Of NHS Portable Classroom Building

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have endorsed a Board of Education proposal to install a 5,040-square-foot portable classroom building next to Newtown High School to resolve a student space shortage there until permanent new school facilities can be constructed.

 At a March 16 session, P&Z members endorsed installation of a portable structure, which would include four student classrooms and related facilities. The building would be installed near a parking lot, adjacent to the school’s loading dock.

Proposed funding for the temporary structure is included in the school system’s budget proposal for the 2006-07 fiscal year.

School Superintendent Evan Pitkoff told P&Z members, “We are experiencing tremendous growth,” requiring that portable facilities be used until the town constructs permanent new space for high school students. The school board is considering a variety of proposals for such permanent space.

Newtown High School currently has 1,688 students in quarters that are designed to hold 1,600 students, Dr Pitkoff said. Projections predict that there will be 2,000 high school students in the year 2014, he said.

To meet an increasing student population, a major building addition at the high school opened in 1997.

Dr Pitkoff urged that the P&Z endorse the town’s use of a modular building near the high school to alleviate crowded conditions until permanent space can be created. It is thought that permanent new student space will not be available for several years.

Dom Posca, who heads the school system’s buildings and grounds unit, described to P&Z members how the portable building would be configured. The structure would have public water service, a sanitary sewer connection, full electrical service, heating, and air conditioning, he explained. Such a structure would be in use for three to five years, he said. Each classroom would hold 30 to 32 students.

The presence of a freestanding portable building positioned about 65 feet from the high school may result in the loss of several parking spaces, Mr Posca said. The building’s dimensions would be 36 feet wide by 140 feet long. It would contain two lavatories.

Mr Posca said he would be meet with town officials to secure the various required approvals for the structure.

After school officials’ presentation of the proposal, P&Z member Sten Wilson observed, “This is just a Band-Aid.” Mr Wilson suggested that school officials install two or three such structures to alleviate student crowding problems.

Dr Pitkoff replied that school officials are reviewing a range of space options to address a projected high school enrollment of 2,000 students.

The school superintendent that said a second portable classroom building may need to be installed in the future, but added that such a structure may need to be placed atop an athletic field, temporarily taking that field out of use.

School Business Manager Ronald Bienkowski said the school system would enter a three-year or four-year lease agreement for the one proposed portable building near the school loading dock, with the option to extend such a lease for one year or two years. It may make sense to eventually buy that structure, he said.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said he supports allowing a portable classroom building to be located near the high school loading dock for three to five years. Zoning officials will review whether the structure’s proposed location meets applicable zoning setback regulations, he said.

On that note, P&Z members voted to endorse the installation of a portable classroom building. Mr Wilson, however, voted in opposition, apparently because he believes that more than one such structure is needed.