Board of Finance OKs up to $1 million to buy 2 Farms Village for in‑district special‑education program after public hearing

Simsbury — The Board of Finance on Feb. 18 approved an appropriation not to exceed $1,000,000 to purchase 2 Farms Village as the site for a proposed in‑district special‑education program, voting 4–1 after a public hearing that drew parents, specialists and school leaders.

The appropriation — drawn from the town’s Capital Reserve Fund — sets a legal cap on what the town may spend on acquiring the property; the Board of Finance repeatedly clarified at the hearing that it was not approving the educational program itself or the contract to purchase the building. “An appropriation is a legal cap in the amount of dollars that may be spent for this purchase,” the board chair said during the hearing.

The Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen retain separate roles: the Board of Education will design and implement the program if authorized; the Board of Selectmen will negotiate and approve the purchase contract and authorize the town manager to sign it.

Why it matters: Presenters said the purchase would let Simsbury develop an in‑district therapeutic program to serve students with complex emotional and behavioral disabilities who currently attend out‑of‑district day schools. School officials argued the move could both improve students’ access to community‑based services and contain rising special‑education costs that have strained district budgets.

What the boards heard: Katie Krasula, director of pupil services for Simsbury Schools, and Amy Merriweather, Simsbury finance director, presented program and financial analyses. Krasula said the district seeks a “smaller, structured, therapeutic, and clinical setting” for students who currently rely on out‑of‑district placements. She described the proposal as phased: year one would relocate the district’s Pathways alternative‑education classroom from modular units behind Simsbury High School into 2 Farms Village; year two would add a second classroom; year three would grow to four classrooms serving roughly 20–25 students (grades 3–12) with up to 10 tuition slots for students from other towns.

Merriweather gave the financial…