Work begins again on plans for North Canaan school expansion

NORTH CANAAN —Plans for a North Canaan Elementary School expansion project and new early childhood center, tabled in May, have been put back in the pot to simmer.

The North Canaan Building Committee went to a meeting in Hartford last week and has resumed a regular monthly meeting schedule. It will continue to tweak its plans and essentially look for the right time to make a proposal to town officials and voters.

Principal Rosemary Keilty, who now chairs the committee, told The Journal that she and the committee have never lost confidence that the project could move forward, or that the need is there.  Had it not taken several years to get off the ground, things might have turned out very differently.

“Just as we were ready to move forward, our enrollments started to drop and the cost of building materials increased considerably. Everything about the economy was uncertain, gas and energy prices were going through the roof. It was just the worst possible scenario to try to do this,� Keilty said.

Targeted needs include a new gymnasium that would address numerous safety aspects, and added classroom space. A new day care center would be termed an early childhood center, and built to a large percentage with dedicated state grant funds.

$40 million project pared down

Originally, the committee instructed architect Ray Sevigny and his firm to devise a full-blown project. The idea was to have as a starting point a plan that addressed current needs and a “wish list.� It was a good exercise in prioritizing needs and getting an idea of what things cost. It was a way to gauge public attitude toward that type of spending, and to get an idea of reimbursement rates.

As it turned out, sticker shock prompted a dramatic paring down of plans. Even the committee members couldn’t get their minds around a $40 million price tag. What they struggled with was determining reimbursements, having been advised the state might pay for as much as half. But there was no way to determine with any real confidence what final reimbursements might be.

This past spring saw a project greatly pared down in scope and cost. A timetable leading up to a town meeting vote was established. A $15.9 million project was approved by the committee. The goal was to get a locally approved project to the state’s School Facilities Unit (SFU) by the June 30 deadline. It is the only chance during the year to submit an application. The SFU has final say on all school-related projects.

In May, the Board of Finance was split on whether to approve the project. Members were concerned that the approval procedure might be flawed and wanted assurances that the town could “pull the plug� on plans, even if approved at a town meeting.

At the annual town budget meeting the following week, an unprecedented crowd came out to vote on new town and school spending plans. It was clear most were there expecting the school project to come up. But it was not on the agenda. Even if someone had brought it up, discussion could not have legally been allowed.

When the committee met May 27, discussion centered on how best to present the project for a town vote. But the matter was clouded by economic uncertainty, which spiked in the weeks leading up to that point.  Gas was hovering at $4 a gallon. A property revaluation would mean an increase in nearly every household’s tax bill. The lengthy meeting ended in a vote to table the project.

Questions about how space is used

Committee members went to Hartford last week to meet with SFU Bureau Chief David Wedge. They were not expecting to get real numbers, but were looking for tools to make reasonable estimates of reimbursements for various parts of the project, and to get a consultation on the project’s cost estimate.

A major issue is square footage. The school was built with 30-by-30 foot classrooms, considered oversized by current standards of smaller class sizes. What it does is bump up the square footage, without creating more classrooms or individually usable space. But the state looks simply at total square footage of space devoted to instruction, divided by enrollment, to determine if the school is overcrowded or not.

The issue from the school’s perspective is not the amount of space, but how it is used. Four additional classrooms would alleviate most of the problems, including getting remedial instruction out of windowless rooms built as storage closets.

Building a gym that meets current safety standards is the biggest priority. The inherent problem there is that it is used not just for physical education and school sports, but by the public. The committee is all for building a gym that will get maximum use, before and after school, but that open use drops the reimbursement rate considerably.

“Mr. Wedge confirmed we are solidly in the ballpark on our cost estimate,� Keilty said. “That was something we really needed to hear. He also confirmed several things, including that we have to add the child care center square footage to our numbers, but we can’t include the children there in our enrollment figures. We are very concerned about enrollment and that doesn’t help. When we submit a project, we have to include enrollment for the current year and projections eight cycles out. That end is not very encouraging, but that’s one of the things we will closely monitor. Housing prices could change dramatically, and more families could move into town.

“At least we know we are on the right track with the current project. The agency that will have to approve them says our numbers are good. The committee meets again Nov. 18. We have a lot of math to do before then. Part of that will require looking at how the child care center fits in. We plan to continue fine-tuning this project and hopefully the right time to do it will come along.�

Beginning with its December meeting, the committee will meet the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public.