Council sends $48.9 million McDonough Elementary renovation to November ballot

Middletown’s Common Council voted 11–1 on Aug. 19 to send a $48.9 million bond ordinance for the renovation and expansion of McDonough Elementary School to the Nov. 5, 2024 referendum.

Dr. Alberto Vasquez Matos, Middletown public schools superintendent, told the council McDonough’s “crumbling bricks, the deteriorating windows, and the antiquated systems” are impairing the school’s ability to serve students and that renovating the building would preserve its historic footprint while modernizing classrooms and safety systems. “Our children deserve a school that inspires them, challenges them, and prepares them for a world they will inherit,” Vasquez Matos said.

Architects from TSKP Studios presented site options and program changes, proposing to increase McDonough’s enrollment from roughly 230 students to about 350 by adding new teaching spaces, a dedicated STEM room, and a consolidated front entrance that improves monitoring. Michael Scott of TSKP said the project would remove later, less-compatible additions and retain and renovate the original 1928 structure.

Consultants described the state school-construction reimbursement as a key driver of timing. The presenters said the state finalized Middletown’s reimbursement rate at about 66.07%, and showed a total project estimate in the $48.6 million range. They also outlined a “net‑0 ready” all‑electric option with a geothermal well field; adding photovoltaic panels to make the school full net‑0 was estimated at about $1.1 million (the presenters estimated the city’s share of that PV cost at roughly $373,000), and could be reimbursable by the state.

Council members asked detailed questions about parking, swing space, and contingencies. Presenters said a $500,000 allowance has been included to ready Kegwin School as swing space (largely to replace air handlers and do limited restroom adjustments) and that a 10% design contingency and modest escalation were built into the current cost estimates. The team said the on-site parking plan anticipates roughly 100 spaces versus about 28 today, with options that would require acquiring one or two adjacent residential parcels to create a more generous campus footprint.

Board of Education chair Sheila Daniels and school principal Orlando Ruiz, along with numerous parents and residents, urged approval to preserve the neighborhood school and expand STEM programming. Several residents asked the board to minimize loss of community green space and to preserve the on-site basketball court and other amenities when finalizing the site plan.

Next steps: the council voted to send the bond question to the Nov. 5 ballot; the explanatory referendum text will be prepared and presented at the council’s September meeting for distribution to the secretary of state and to voters. If passed by voters and then approved through the state grant steps, consultants outlined an occupancy target for a renovated McDonough in summer 2029, with possible acceleration of about a year if the city elects to begin design earlier.