Board recommends two-part facilities feasibility study, including option to evaluate single high school

The Stratford School District Board of Education voted unanimously to send a recommendation to the town Building Needs Committee for a comprehensive, two-part facilities feasibility study.

The board’s recommendation, which passed at the end of the facilities discussion, asks for: (A) a detailed renovation assessment for the high-school building identified for immediate work and (B) a districtwide feasibility analysis that includes an option to evaluate consolidating the district’s two high schools into a single campus. "We either stay where we're at and continue with that vein or make a change," said Speaker 4, who opened the feasibility conversation and framed the single-high-school option as one of the study scenarios.

Why it matters: board members stressed that renovating without a districtwide lens would commit the town to long-term investments in multiple aging buildings. Several members noted the emotional sensitivity of consolidation but said an outside study can provide objective cost, enrollment and programmatic analysis before major capital commitments.

Details and timeline: participants said a shovel-in-the-ground construction start under the renovation-only timeline was earlier projected for 2028; adding the single-high-school option could push that start to 2029, according to Speaker 8’s summary of earlier contractor estimates. A prior facilities assessment cited in the discussion estimated renovation costs for one building at about $28,000,000 (figure referenced from a 2022 assessment). Board members therefore recommended moving forward with both parts so short-term renovation needs would not be delayed while the district-wide evaluation proceeds.

Community engagement and constraints: speakers emphasized the study should include public engagement and that the district needs an outside, nonpolitical consultant to evaluate buildings, enrollments and educational program implications. Questions were raised about grant ramifications if building use changes; board members said eligibility and timing for grants should be reviewed during the study.

Vote and next steps: the motion "to send to the Building Needs Committee the recommendation of this body" as a "comprehensive feasibility study that has two parts" was moved by Mr. Cormier and seconded by Miss Bedell. The board voted 'Aye' and the motion passed unanimously. The board directed that the recommendation be forwarded to the town’s Building Needs Committee for consideration.

The Building Needs Committee will now consider the recommendation and incorporate it into its work on Bunnell; the board discussed returning to public forums and keeping stakeholders and the two high schools involved during the consultant process.