Caught Up On Cost: Finance Board Seeks Cost Cuts in Middle School Proposal

A proposal that would allow the town to go to referendum on a project to renovate the DePaolo and Kennedy middle schools is likely to move forward – but not before cuts are made by the Board of Finance.

Finance members voted unanimously to table the $100.1 million proposal Wednesday evening, instead electing to take up a vote following discussions during a special meeting on July 6.

“This is a project that is needed and a lot of people want to help, but the $100 million number really scares them. They have been coming to this board to ask what we can do,” said Board of Finance Chairman John Leary.  “We are all in support on this board, but there are a lot of questions to answer and we have just one shot to do right and pass this professionally.”

Members of the Board of Education and Fletcher Thompson, the architecture firm hired to conduct the feasibility study and design portions of the project, presented their plan to the Board of Finance Wednesday and members praised the proposal, but also questioned the need of certain specifications within the plan.

The $101.1 million proposal, which would include the purchase of property to the north of Kennedy Middle School, would allow the town to renovate-as-new each school

The renovation would include two new sections and expand the school sizes from roughly 110,000 to 141,000 square feet. Joseph Costa, principal of Fletcher Thompson, said the designs remain conceptual in nature.

Aspects of the proposal including a large amount of Cybex and other gym equipment, the installation of 24 boys showers and 48 girls showers and the need for air conditioning throughout the school were each brought into question following the presentation.

Residents including Art Cyr, Sandra Feld, Anthony Casale and Joseph Landry asked board members to question the costs and seek savings before moving forward, however.

“We need you to sharpen your pencils and try to bring number down because there are a lot of other things in town that need attention,” Casale said. “The infrastructure as a whole needs to be addressed.”

Board members including John Moise, Joseph Labieniec and Kevin Beaudoin each expressed concerns regarding the affect of such costs on taxpayers as well, saying the proposal would put the town on the hook for just over $50 million in principal bonds and an additional $23 million in interest over a 20-year period, including a cost to the town of $12 million in the first year.

“If start right now with current budget, most of the interest costs would come in the first eight years,” Beaudoin said. “The difference is $5 million in first year – this would push to a 6-percent increase to taxes if we were to start paying for school this year. Homeowners with a  $500 homeowner pay $300 more.

Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski and School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr. have each defended the proposal at public hearings Monday and Wednesday, however.

Goralski said careful thought went into each aspect of the proposal, which was developed through work that began eight years ago.

The Board of Education has also said the proposal would carry the schools well into the future – and do so at a cost that is hundreds of millions less than a high school renovation proposal in neighboring Meriden, which would be more than $1 billion.

“The schools were built in the mid-1960s and designed for 600 kids. We now have 800 in each,” Goralski said.

The tabling Wednesday did not affect the timetable for the project, officials said, and the Board of Finance will vote on it during the special meeting, which will take place at 7 p.m. at Town Hall on July 6.