Consultant Recommends Off-Site High School Expansion

By Larissa Lytwyn

At its December 20 meeting, the High School Space Needs (HSSN) Committee invited consultant James Lawler of CJ Lawler Associates of West Hartford to provide a detailed analysis of the possibilities and limitations of a Newtown High School expansion project.

According to the latest enrollment projection data provided by Bothwell Consulting Associates of Carmel, N.Y., the high school’s population is expected to increase by 324, or almost 20 percent, by 2012-13.

In a presentation to HSSN committee members, Mr Lawler explained that an additional 250 to 300 students should not be placed on the high school site primarily because the existing site is being fully utilized.

An addition to the current site would require an increase in space for parking and playing fields.  , To simply accommodate a new structure, however, building on the high school site would require the loss of developed playing fields or parking.

The school’s cafeteria is similarly overtaxed, he noted. The school’s 6,686-square-foot cafeteria provides 15 square feet per student, or 457 student occupants per lunch wave. A 1990 state recommendation advised that 24 square feet be provided per student.

At present, the cafeteria is severely overcrowded, supporting students throughout the school day through free periods and study halls, as well as through overlapping lunch waves. 

The school’s art and music spaces, gymnasium, and media center are currently at capacity; an increase in population would require additional space.

Existing corridors, each eight feet wide, are overcrowded as students move between classes.

Mr Lawler suggested that a 10- to 12-foot-wide corridor would be “much more successful” in accommodating student flow.

Whether the district chose to build an independent building or an expansion on the existing site, some parking and playing field space would be compromised. The construction costs, he said, would be approximately the same.

 

Three Scenarios

Next, Mr Lawler presented three scenarios to accommodate the school’s growing population. The first was to construct a 250- to 300-student facility directly parallel to the present high school.

Mr Lawler said that an addition or freestanding building adjacent to Route 34 or the gymnasium could be built, sacrificing about 140 parking spaces but keeping playing fields intact.

Parking, he suggested, could be accommodated off site or by modifying the current parking policy. The gym could require another addition with more locker space. Expansion of the cafeteria and media center could also be worked into the addition.

Another possibility, said Mr Lawler, was building a freestanding structure on the site’s west end playing fields, which would eliminate one soccer field and the baseball field. The site, however, could accommodate its own parking.

Mr Lawler next discussed the potential of using the school’s courtyard and/or patio area for expansion use. While technically possible in terms of construction, Mr Lawler discouraged pursuing this option. “Small additions scattered around different parts of the building will increase cost and disrupt programs,” he said.

These scenarios, he continued, were short-term problem solvers, not suitable for long-range planning needs.

The future, he said, would “eventually require” two high schools.

“Increasing the population at the present facility to 1,800 or 1,900 students [currently, the school contains about 1,600 students] would make the creation of two equal high schools more difficult in the future,” Mr Lawler said, “and erodes the quality of the present program.”

Off Site Recommendation

Mr Lawler recommended finding a 40- to 45-acre site off campus to construct a freestanding building that could accommodate 250 to 300 students. The new structure could be the site of a specialized academic program.

“Constructing [such] an independent facility on another site would provide a focused program that would not have to duplicate facilities already at the high school, such as the gym, pool, media center, auditorium and kitchen,” Mr Lawler said. “It could accommodate expansion into a larger facility down the road and maximize state funding possibilities for program enhancement.”

In addition, he said that state funds would be available for developing independent playing fields.

Mr Lawler discussed at length the multiple benefits of using appropriated space at Fairfield Hills, specifically Bridgeport and Kent halls.

Further, “The Fairfield Hills land is already owned by the town,” said Mr Lawler, “which is already planning to develop athletic fields.”

Fairfield Hills is also in physical proximity with the high school to accommodate busing for orchestra, band, sports, and other purposes. As the location of a potential future high school, the schools are geographically close enough to create balance demographic districts.

The cost of such a building, excluding site development costs, would be about $18 million to $20 million.

Bridgeport Hall is a single-story building of approximately 40,000 square feet. Spaces would work particularly well, said Mr Lawler, especially for the performing arts, visual arts, and science programs.

Kent Hall is a three-story facility of approximately 70,000 square feet. It is a concrete, fireproof structure with three identical floors. The central spaces are fairly large with wings that are 36-feet wide with a row of columns down the center.

While Mr Lawler said Kent Hall was “well-sited” in relation to the town’s master plan for Fairfield Hills, a more in-depth study was required to determine its ability to support a high school program.

During the school board meeting the following evening, December 21, board member Tom Gissen, also a member of the HSSN committee, said Mr Lawler’s work was “well presented.”