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Consultants tell Milford board a single consolidated high school is not viable now
Summary
Perkins Eastman told the Milford Board of Education on Feb. 3, 2026 that a parcel large and buildable enough to host a single 1,600‑student high school could not be found after a district-wide parcel screen; the board agreed to pursue improvements at the two existing high schools and to study middle- and elementary-school configurations in coming months.
Perkins Eastman consultants told the Milford Board of Education on Feb. 3, 2026 that a district-wide parcel screen found no near‑term option to build a single, consolidated high school large enough to accommodate roughly 1,600 students.
"Our recommendation at this point is there's no near-term options to accommodate the singular high school based on the analysis," said Patrick Davis, a principal with Perkins Eastman, summarizing the team's parcel-by-parcel review.
Why it matters: The board had asked consultants to test whether the district could combine its two existing high schools into one campus. A single campus would affect student travel, athletics and site infrastructure, and it would reshape the district's capital plan if pursued.
What the consultants did and found Perkins Eastman developed a program model of a 1,600‑student high school and a minimum outdoor program that includes competition fields, a regulation track, practice fields and multiple courts. The team screened district parcels (they reported reviewing parcels 15 acres and larger, with an ideal target nearer 40 acres), checked for wetlands and steep slopes, and met with the town planning department to identify parcels already in development or otherwise restricted.
"We literally went parcel by parcel and really tried to make sure we crossed all our tees and all of our eyes," Davis said. After overlaying constraints such as wetlands, zoning and access, the consultants said they could not identify a property that checked the required boxes for building and safe circulation.
Board reaction and immediate next steps Board members thanked the consultants for a detailed analysis and expressed disappointment that consolidation is not feasible today. The board signaled consensus to pursue the contingency described in a prior motion: instead of a single new high school, the district will study improvements at the two existing high schools and continue the long-range facilities planning process.
Perkins Eastman outlined a schedule: middle‑school evaluation in February, elementary‑school analysis in March, and a packaged master plan to the board in April with a target vote on the master plan by April 27 so that any capital implications can be reflected in the district's capital improvement planning. Consultants also said the district will launch a public-facing website and data dashboard in the coming days and will use digital pushes, QR codes at school events and translated content to increase outreach.
A board member asked specifically whether both high‑school sites and the Harborside middle‑school site had been modeled together; the consultants said they had evaluated both and that combining the two parcels (about 20 acres in the example discussed) still did not yield sufficient, buildable area when wetlands and program needs were considered.
What happens next The board agreed to proceed with the consultants' recommended path: deeper evaluation of the two high schools to identify capital improvements that would sustain the buildings and maintain program quality; a middle‑school recommendation to the board in February; an elementary analysis in March; and a consolidated draft master plan in April for public review and a final decision at the end of April.
The consultants said they will continue public engagement in multiple formats, including targeted in-person visits to school events and translated materials on the new website.
