Superintendent: “Back to the Drawing Board”

Patch let you know that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Graner had requested that the $45 million middle school renovation project be rescinded from the May ballot last week but that’s not the last you’ll hear from that project.
“Essentially we're postponing it,” said Graner in a phone call Monday.

Both the Board of Education and Town Council voted to approve the project, which would basically improve security and add a wing and interior walls to the current middle school. The school board hoped to add a pre-school and bring the sixth grade into the middle school and close the Ledyard Center School. 

But after bringing the project to the state’s facilities department Graner learned that the renovate-as-new project was too costly to qualify for the expected 62 percent reimbursement.

“Even if voters passed it at referendum, it stood a really good chance it would not pass at the state,” said Graner.

Graner and the facilities committee will be looking at a cost analysis of the proposed project and figuring out a reasonable cost per square foot to go forward with.

Graner said after that, the current plan may be changed or scrapped because the new plan is to “go back to the drawing board and look at all the alternatives, including building a new school.”

The Town Council will act on Graner’s request Wednesday. After that, Graner said residents could see another proposal in November.