Committee advances Middletown middle/high school name and seeks to preserve Gaudet memorials

The Middletown School Building Committee told the Jan. 29 meeting it has recommended a name for the new middle/high school and will forward that recommendation to the Town Council for final approval.

Committee members said the school committee approved the naming recommendation at its prior meeting and that a memo recommending the name will be placed on the town-council docket. During the discussion, members emphasized the importance of preserving existing memorials and dedicated spaces associated with the current J.H. Gaudet School — including the gymnasium, planetarium and other donor-recognized items — and asked architects to incorporate memorial elements in the new design where feasible.

Committee members also discussed fundraising and sponsorship opportunities tied to naming specific spaces (for example, donor plaques, bricks or dedicated rooms) and asked the superintendent and architects to provide an inventory of currently named spaces and any town policies that control building or room naming. The chair and school staff noted that the Town Council retains final authority to name buildings, and the committee will coordinate with the council and town memorial-policy documents as the design and fundraising plans develop.

Committee members requested the consulting team’s prior list of potential fundraising opportunities be re-shared and asked staff to assemble a definitive list of spaces already dedicated so the architects can incorporate memorialization into ongoing design work.