School Offices To Relocate Later This Fall

By Jeff White

The new “alternative high school” that will be placed in Canaan House this fall will be followed by the relocation of school district offices to the building’s Western District offices, which school officials say could take place as early as October.

The Newtown Board of Education has earmarked nearly $30,000 in its proposed operating budget for the relocation, which was initially planned for part of the JP McGuire building currently under construction across from the high school. Leasing part of this building was desirable for the district because of its proximity to the high school, and the possibility of finding future uses for the space if the district decided to relocate again.

The Western District offices in Canaan House that the school district will lease reside directly across from the area the town currently occupies with the offices of the Building Commission, Planning and Zoning, Health District, and Parks and Recreation. The floor plans of the two wings are almost identical.

Superintendent of Schools John R. Reed has said that the district will wait to relocate after the school year is well underway and the alternative high school is progressing smoothly.

JP Maguire, Connecticut’s largest restoration company, recently completed its work on Canaan House’s west wing in preparation of the school district’s impending move. The Western District offices have been cleared out and cleaned, and are awaiting wiring for phones and computers.

The decision to move offices grew out of the school district’s need for space. The area currently occupied by the district will start to be converted into classrooms as soon as it is vacated but is not expected to be ready for student use until the fall of 2001. Dominic Posca, the buildings and grounds supervisor for the district, will be acting as the general contractor for that middle school renovation, enabling the district to save close to $100,000 on the project.

Still, the school district’s relocation to Canaan House is far from a permanent move, Dr Reed has said. “Canaan House to me is a temporary solution.”