By Meghan Muldoon
With just under two weeks remaining before the deadline to qualify for state reimbursement for the proposed new Long Lots elementary school project, town officials are racing to secure the necessary endorsements to avoid further delays and rising costs.
After receiving approval this week from both the Conservation Commission and the Flood and Erosion Control Board, the project went before the Westport Board of Finance last night for discussion.
Describing the town’s proposal to build a new school as a “long strange trip,” Finance Chairman Lee Caney opened last night’s meeting lamenting what he called “unwarranted attacks” on building committee members and public officials.
“Let me assure you that no public official who I’ve worked with, including my board members here, has any agenda other than doing what’s best for the residents of Westport,” Caney said. “I appreciate a diversity of opinions and encourage residents to express their views but let’s not bring Washington-style politics to Westport. We are better than that.”
Caney underscored the project’s extensive and transparent review process, citing years of public meetings, input from multiple town boards, and the deteriorating condition of the current school as reasons to move forward with the appropriation.
“Stakeholders have been given ample opportunity to provide input,” he said. “So if anyone argues that delay in this project is warranted because they need more information or more analysis needs to be done, I think they’re being disingenuous.”
The proposed school, which could accommodate 820-850 students, comes with a current price tag of roughly $108 million — a steep increase from the $98 million estimate from January 2024.
At $851 per square foot, the Long Lots project is currently the most expensive among comparable schools, according to benchmarking data presented by Building Committee member Don O’Day. The project’s high cost is being attributed to inflation, tariffs, and enhanced sustainability measures such as geothermal heating and cooling systems, and advanced water management infrastructure.
While expressing concerns about potential cost increases and uncertainty around the final price tag, Board of Finance’s Danielle Dobin said she is still comfortable making that kind of investment in education. “With schools, I think we should be building the Mercedes,” Dobin said.
Despite the cost concerns, members of the Long Lots Building Committee have warned that delays could be even more costly. If the town misses the June 30 deadline to qualify for state reimbursement, Westport could lose between $800,000 and $1.3 million in state funding. Such a delay would also jeopardize the school’s planned 2027 opening.
Town officials are hurrying through the approval process to meet a June 30 deadline, after it was revealed last week that meeting the state’s deadline for grant approval was in jeopardy.
In addition, a town charter regulation requires a two-week break period for any expenditure over $500,000 to allow for the opportunity to file for a public referendum. That means that the RTM, which is the ultimate deciding town body on financial matters, must approve the project’s appropriation request by June 16 before it can be submitted to the state.
Mixed reactions from neighbors and parents
While acknowledging the students’ needs, residents living near the Long Lots Elementary School voiced concerns about the project’s impact on their properties, privacy and quality of life.
Hyde Lane resident Edith Anderson said the north side of the school “looks like the ugliest commercial building you’ve ever seen” and she urged town officials to create better buffer zones between the school and its residential neighbors. “My life and my nest egg are also important here,” she said.
Many speakers, like Long Lots parent Tina DeGroot, framed the project as an investment in the community and urged the board to approve it.
“Yes, it’s a lot of money but it is the ultimate investment in the hundreds of thousands of children that will be going through this school for generations to come,” she said.
Moving forward, a flurry of town meetings are scheduled next week leading up to a full Board of Finance vote on the funds appropriation Wednesday evening, and ultimately a full vote of the Representative Town Meeting at Town Hall on Thursday night.
Meghan Muldoon is a freelance writer.
The only delays I am aware of are those related to a complicated school on a complicated land site that the LLSBC committee admits on the record, at least twice, caused delays heretofore.
The most recent unnecessary and DELIBERATE delay is in providing the financials to the public during the currently continuing deliberations on approving an $108m+ appropriation request.
The financials are available. We saw you looking at them Thursday night in a neat spiral bound booklet. Give them to us.
Finally, if the town misses the deadline for a funding reimbursement, how does that delay any progress on actually building the school?
It is said there are three tranches of debt service to be gotten over the course of construction. Is all of the reimbursement due in at the start of the debt service schedule? What is the debt service schedule? When are the state funds expected to be received?
Finally, I like the idea of giving the committee a flat $100M and asking them to make that work. The education occurs between teachers and students, not gilded walls.