By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — When town funding bodies get the latest iteration of the school district’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan later this fall, they will notice one project — lighting and rigging for the Staples High School auditorium — has tripled in price.

Last year, the project was estimated to cost about $463,000. Now it is closer to $1.5 million — more if the sound system is thrown into the equation.

“I think we need to ask for what we think is right,” said board Chair Lee Goldstein when the board’s meeting last Thursday extended past midnight Friday morning. “That’s my opinion.”

An evaluation of the current system finds it’s old and potentially unsafe, Theodore Hunyadi, the district’s facilities director, told the board.

A major heating and cooling line runs above an existing platform some 30 feet overhead, officials said. The four- to six-inch pipes have been there since the auditorium’s original construction, they added.

It is now recommended that the stage lighting system, lighting fixtures and associated electrical work be completed at the same time as the rigging improvements.

Hunyadi said the additional work was also prompted by discussions with staff who use the existing equipment.

“We asked how it works for you. We were told it doesn’t,” he said.

Charles Warrington, a manager with Colliers Project Leaders, the school district’s project consultant, suggested visiting the stage may be in order so school board members can see what needs to be replaced.

Issues with the auditorium sound system also were cited. That could tack on another couple hundred thousand dollars to the planned work

“The sound system is terrible,” Goldstein said. “You can only hear in central orchestra.”

Board member Robert Harrington said he doesn’t really object to the proposal unless the board doesn’t have its facts and figures in order. 

Bundling the projects could also save money, it was suggested.

The Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting already approved funding of the initial $462,934 toward the project last fall. The additional funds would be requested so the project can go out to bid in the fall of 2025, with the work completed in the summer of 2026.

The board is set to vote on a full Capital Improvement Plan request at its Oct. 10 meeting. Last year’s capital requests totaled than $1.3 million.

The 10-year plan is constantly refreshed, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice told the board.

This year, several projects have been pulled off the list to be financed instead by the district’s operating budget or bundled to save money. 

Other projects have been added based on the recently completed Building Envelope Evaluations completed by Silver Petrucelli and Associates, a Hamden-based architectural firm.

The study looked for potential leaks in windows, doors and roofs at five schools: Bedford, Kings Highway, Greens Farms, Saugatuck and Staples.

Most buildings were deemed to be in very good condition, according to John Koplas, another project manager for Colliers.

The biggest project will be the part of the Staples roof not recently replaced. It has a life span of another four years, according to the report.

Most of the other issues cited can be dealt with two or three years out, with projects like caulking and painting at various schools bundled to save the district money. Others, such as ceiling and floor tile replacements, can be done by the district’s facilities department, Warrington told the board.

Additionally all kitchen equipment currently in the 10-year plan has been taken off and will be handled under the district’s cafeteria fund.

Other than the Staples auditorium, the high school is slated to get new sports flooring next summer.

A new project being explored would install wireless access points to the school’s athletic fields. The system would allow for internal video streaming of games.

Scarice said the request came from Staples Athletic Director VJ Sarullo.

Another project would provide a centrally located concession stand with restrooms to service all athletic fields at the school. It is not clear where either project would be placed on the district’s 10-year plan.

The board will get the price tag for the 2025-26 projects when it meets in two weeks.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.