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Machine-shop plan stalls after tie vote amid concerns about robotics relocation
Summary
A proposed precision machine shop at Fitch High School, funded with grants and intended to support a new EV/manufacturing pathway, failed on a 4-4 tie after board members raised questions about equipment lists, funding detail, and whether relocating the longstanding robotics team into the wood shop (with a temporary outdoor practice structure) would harm the robotics program.
The Groton Board of Education voted on April 27 on a plan to open a precision machine shop at Fitch High School, part of a multi-year career-pathway effort supported by outside grants. The motion failed on a 4-4 tie after a lengthy, often contentious discussion about equipment, space and the future of the school'district's robotics team.
Supporters said the new machine shop would deliver career-ready skills and respond to employer needs. "This is about preparing kids for highly skilled jobs," the superintendent told the board, noting grant support and partnerships that would underwrite equipment and teacher training. Proponents said funding sources such as Perkins, CIP and external partners would cover much of the cost and that some equipment has already been ordered through grant processes.
Opponents, however, faulted the proposal's timing and documentation. Several board members said new machines appearing on the plan were not itemized in the packet and that the floor plan had changed since a recent special meeting. "Before I vote I'd like to see an itemized list of all the equipment, prices and funding sources," one member said. Others raised safety and permitting questions about the temporary outdoor structure proposed to give robotics a practice area, and worried about the optics of moving a long'standing student team from its current space.
The question of where robotics would practice and whether the team'raised equipment would be incorporated into classes proved a persistent tension. One board member said robotics and machining should have been planned together and urged a solution that would support both programs. Another said the robotics team deserved a permanent, protected space and that temporary structures might not meet long'term needs.
After debate and an unsuccessful amendment to make approval conditional on an explicit robotics relocation plan and a temporary structure cap (the amendment failed), the main motion to approve the machine-shop plan failed on a tied vote. The superintendent and multiple board members said they would continue to seek a path forward, and administration committed to follow-up: bringing detailed equipment lists, cost breakdowns and any required permits or fire-marshal approvals to the board for further review.
The outcome leaves the district with grant-funded equipment commitments and unresolved logistics for the robotics program. Several board members suggested a special meeting and additional documentation would be necessary before a future vote. The meeting adjourned with the matter unresolved; administrators said they would work to present the missing details and formal cost information to the board soon.
The board did record other actions during the meeting, but the machine-shop discussion was the meeting's most divisive item and the only one that produced a failed vote.
