Region 15 board calls March 23 public hearing on $224 million plan to replace two elementary schools; turf field discussion added to the notice

The Regional School District 15 Board of Education voted unanimously March 9 to call a district meeting and public hearing for March 23 to consider a $224,000,000 borrowing authorization to plan, design and build two new elementary schools to replace Pomp Rock Elementary School and Gainesville Elementary School.

The board’s motion, read by a board member (speaker 14) and approved by voice vote, authorized officers and the superintendent to call the district meeting and to publish the required notices. The motion text included creation of a building committee and said the $224 million appropriation may be reduced by grants; the presentation that preceded the motion included an estimated grant coverage rate of about 64.2 percent.

Why it matters: the authorization would allow the district to pursue state reimbursement and bond financing that would pay for design, construction, demolition, site work, furnishings and related costs. The board’s vote moves the project to a formal public‑hearing stage and sets the calendar for when language and final resolutions must be posted in advance of the referendum timetable.

During a detailed debt‑service presentation, the district’s finance presenter (speaker 11) reviewed three amortization scenarios — 20, 25 and 30 years — and said interest assumptions used in the illustrative analysis were about 3.25 percent. In the example shown to the board, he said “the tax rate will go up about $31.32 dollars per year, for each year that it's in blue,” referring to the per‑$100,000 assessed‑value column on the handout used to explain annual impacts.

Board members pressed the presenter on whether that figure represented an incremental cost or the total tax effect for property owners. One board member (speaker 10) argued the $31 figure could be misleading if presented without clarifying the cumulative and total annual obligations; the presenter and staff explained the slide showed an annualized illustrative impact and reviewed how short‑term notes and later refinancing could change timing and cash flow.

Turf field: prompted by more than 50 community emails and local organizing activity, a board member requested adding a discussion about a proposed second turf field to the meeting agenda. After extended debate about timing, cost uncertainty and whether the field should be presented as a separate referendum question, the board reached consensus to add the turf‑field discussion to the March 23 public‑hearing notice so voters and residents can comment and staff can continue to gather firm cost estimates before the March 18/20 deadlines that govern ballot posting.

Board process and next steps: staff and counsel told the board it may submit either a single combined authorization covering both new schools or separate ballot questions for each school; the board did not finalize that choice but agreed that final ballot language and the resolution would be set before the March 20 board meeting. The March 23 district meeting is scheduled to begin with a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. at the Pomerag Regional High School Media Center.

What was decided: the board authorized the district meeting/public hearing for March 23 for the $224 million recommendation and instructed staff to publish the required notices. It also added a turf‑field discussion to the March 23 public‑hearing notice and directed staff to produce cost options, alternatives and a recommended notice description in time to meet publication deadlines.

The board also passed a series of routine grant and project motions later in the meeting and certified compliance with Connecticut nutrition standards for the upcoming school year; those actions were procedural and voted unanimously.