Building A Bright Future: Voters Approve Middle School Referendum

After 50 years without a change, the town’s voters has approved a referendum that will allow the Board of Education to move forward with a plan to give the town’s middle schools a much needed make over.

Voters approved a referendum by a vote of nearly two to one (4,859 in favor,
2,284 opposed) allowing for up to $85 million in bonding costs to renovate-as-new the and middle schools. A building committee will now be formed to oversee the project and final blueprints, with the project scheduled to be shovel ready as soon as June 2013.

“It was something that we needed in this community and it’s something I worked 13 years to see come to fruition,” said Patricia Johnson, Southington Board of Education member. “All we wanted is what’s best for the community.”

The approval came after a two-month long informational campaign by the Southington Board of Education and district administrators. Led by School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr., the schools have pushed to make sure voters had the facts they needed to make an educated decision when they took to the polls on Tuesday.

The buildings have not been upgraded since 1966 when they were first built and are the last of Southington’s public schools to receive a 21st century upgrade. In addition, the schools are currently operating above their 600-student capacity. The renovation will increase the capacity to 811 students.

The renovate-as-new project will not only expand the schools capacity but will also address technology upgrades and improve a 40-year-old electrical systems, which have presented a safety issue for public officials, Erardi said.

The referendum had some opposition from those who were opposed to the idea of adding costs to an already overtaxed residential population, but those who spoke at the polls Tuesday said it was time to make the upgrades.

“This is still the same school as it was when I was here 10 years ago,” said Austin Magaro, Southington resident and University of Bridgeport intern at DePaolo Middle School. “All of the towns other schools have received upgrades in the past 10 years. This is overdue and approval came just in time.”

The town is expected to receive a grant from the state Department of Education that will help pay for 56 percent of the costs. Grant funding will be received once construction is completed and updated school populations are determined, officials said. The anticipated funding would account for more than $43 million of the total construction costs.

Local parents Kristin Colby and Jillian Liebler said outside the Derynoski School polls Tuesday that the renovations were badly needed and that’s why they chose to support the measure.

“It’s not just that we have children in the school system, but this is something that is in the best interest of both Southington’s students and the community,” Liebler said. “It’s needed, and that’s why I voted for it.”

The approval will have a 0.99 affect on the mill rate in year one and a 0.54 affect on the mill rate in 20 years, town officials said. The year to year impact of the taxpayer cannot be determined without considering other budget factors including additional bonding, grand list changes and changes to annual budgets.

Erardi said with the referendum behind the Board of Education, the town would immediately move forward in developing a committee and begin planning.

“Now it’s time to focus on the next step,” said Brian Goralski, Board of Education member.