School Board Answers Questions On NHS Expansion

By Laurie Borst

The Board of Education invited the public to attend a presentation on the high school expansion project Tuesday, September 5. Board member Tom Gissen, a city planner by training, developer by profession, opened the discussion.

“Options A thru F have been put to paper. Many other options were considered,” Mr Gissen began. “What do we need to provide the best education we can? How can we do that in the most fiscally responsible manner for all of the taxpayers of the town? In the end, the addition you will be shown tonight meets both of those criteria. [It meets] all of the projected demands of the high school, within state reimbursement costs, and is also the most cost-effective as compared to going off site or with other options.”

“We are not here tonight to rehash the last 18 months, two years of work” he continued. “The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to make a presentation of the plan we have presented to the town. We hope to present that to the best of our ability to you and answer any questions you have. That’s our goal here tonight.”

Mr Gissen turned the floor over to Joe Costa, project manager with Fletcher Thompson.

“What you’re going to be seeing tonight is a lot of the same information that you saw back in June and that’s been published widely,” Mr Costa said. “There’s really no new information except some modification on dates on some of the schedules. The charge remained the same.

“Our job was to develop education specifications and a grocery list of spaces which we put together with the BOE, high school administrators, and teachers. We were asked this time around to look at the gym expansion.”

To start the process of developing the project, the district first needed enrollment projections. Typically, statistical models are used that predict growth eight years out. The Connecticut State Department of Education showed the high school population rising to 1,982 by 2014.

Bothwell, a projection consultant, arrived at a population of 2,137 by 2014. This number reflects the maximum number of students that would be expected if all possible lots in town were developed. The state has approved the use of the Bothwell number.

The goals of the plan include adding space to accommodate 2,137 students with an average class size of 22.5. The state mandates 174.5 square feet per student. This results in an addition of approximately 92,000 square feet.

Matthew Holst, an intern architect with Fletcher Thompson, walked the audience through the floor plans of the spaces being added.

A faculty lounge with room for the teachers to sit and correct papers, write lesson plans, etc, is planned for the addition. NHS does not have dedicated classrooms for each teacher. Teachers must vacate the room if they are not teaching a class.

A cafetorium is planned which includes a stage. This will relieve congestion in the main cafeteria. By keeping the two cafeterias as far apart as possible, students move in opposite directions, reducing congestion.

“Very little renovation is included in the current plan,” Mr Costa said. “The renovations are scheduled to be done after the addition is completed. This way, students can be moved into the addition, freeing up space in the main building. Renovations can then be done with little disruption to classes.”

Newtown could receive 32.86 percent reimbursement from the state on eligible costs. “On a project like this, about 90 percent of costs would be eligible for reimbursement,” Mr Costa said.

When the plan was first presented in June, actual start and completion dates were included. Since the project is dependent on approval by the town, dates were changed to months of duration for each item.

“Dates depend on when we start,” said Mr Costa, “and how many summers we get in our timeframe.”

Several audience members expressed the hope that “green” alternatives will be considered on the NHS project. Mr Costa said his organization has a number of people on staff with an environmental background. He pointed out that there are rebates and incentives available for using environmentally friendly options.

Fletcher Thompson was asked to include returfing Blue & Gold Field. This would change the natural grass to a artificial turf field. An estimate of $650,000 has been obtained and some private funding has been discussed. The artificial turf fields have been installed at a number of area schools.

Greg Simon, athletic director at NHS, spoke about the artificial fields. Injuries are greatly reduced, the life of the field is greatly extended. As it stands, the number of teams allowed to use the Blue & Gold field is limited. The grass field is too easily damaged, he noted.

“By improving the field, many groups benefit,” Mr Simon stated. “The marching band could then practice on the field instead of in the parking lot. Other sports groups could also utilize the field.”

Mr Simon also spoke about the gym expansion. While the high school itself has undergone several expansions over the years, the gym, originally built for 1,000 students, has always been the piece that is cut when the budget is deemed too high.

“The gym now has numerous leaks in the ceiling, which puts water on the floor during games,” Mr Simon added. “The floor needs to be refinished every year to keep it in decent enough shape to be used.

“The ceiling and associated duct work are too low for tournament play, which means Newtown loses home field advantage when teams make it to championship level,” Mr Simon continued. “The bleachers do not move in and out easily. Many custodial hours are logged trying to keep the bleachers functional.”

Some in the audience were concerned with the designation of a “freshman house” being built. The addition is not just for freshmen, it was explained, there will be population crossover. Making it a freshman house effectively pulls one-quarter of population out of main building area. Core courses would be housed in the addition and freshmen would still enter the main building for electives.

The current projection for completion is fall 2010. “We need this now,” said Mr Gissen. “We put in portables. We will need more each year. That doesn’t solve the problems. It just makes the cafeteria and all areas more crowded.”

“Parking and traffic patterns, both internally and externally, need to be looked at carefully,” Mr Gissen added.

Questions were raised regarding the NEASC report. NHS has received a warning. If the problems found in the report are not addressed, NHS could lose its accreditation. This hurts students chances of getting into their college of choice. It hurts the town and its bond rating.

Arlene Gottesman, NHS principal, said, “A special report is due to NEASC by January 1 detailing what we are planning to do to improve the situation at the school. NEASC will review the report and vote in March.”

NHS could be taken off warning status, left on warning status, or moved to probation. Schools on probation are in imminent danger of losing accreditation.

Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff said, “When I was working in Hamden, the school was put on warning. Once we showed NEASC our plan, the school was taken off the warning list. We need to show them a viable, funded plan.”

At the meeting, the school board passed out a pamphlet addressing frequently asked questions on the project. This document can be viewed on the district’s website, newtown.k12.ct.us.