Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the original version, which incorrectly attributed comments to Margaret Wyrwas, who was not in attendance at the meeting.
———————————
By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT — As neighbors of Long Lots Elementary School continue to voice concerns, the Board of Education indicated Monday it will vote next week to support a recommendation to pursue construction of a new school on the Hyde Lane property.
“We are not voting yes or not to go to the funding bodies at this point,” board Vice Chairwoman Liz Heyer said at the conclusion of a meeting held in the Staples High School cafeteria. “We are voting to move forward with next steps and understanding what those next steps are.”
Heyer told residents who spoke moments earlier that the board will give careful consideration to the issues raised.
Neighbors: Favored site will trigger more flooding
Long Lots Road resident Joellen Bradford said building the school on the lowest part of the property would cause flooding and affect many area residents, particularly those who live along nearby Muddy Brook.
“You are suggesting moving the school to the wettest portion of the property,” said Sam Anderson, a Hyde Lane resident.
He called it an invitation for future mold problems at a new school building, and wondered if the town is prepared to offer compensation to neighbors for any flooding that results from the construction.
Last month, neighbors had voiced many of the same concerns.
New construction vs. renovations
For some time, the board has been weighing the benefits of renovating the aging elementary school on Hyde Lane or replacing it.
A study delivered to the board last month concluded there are two sites — on opposite ends of the school property — where a new school could be built while students continue to attend classes in the existing building, which is nearly seven decades old.
Of the two locations, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice favors building a new school on the northern portion of the property where playing fields now sit. It would provide more room and flexibility during construction, the board was told.
The school would comprise two stories, up to 108,000 square feet and cost up to $102 million to build. It would solve not only space issues at Long Lots, but Coleytown Elementary School since the new structure would accommodate the district’s Stepping Stones preschool.
David C. Symonds, a principal with QA&M Architecture, told the school board the existing school is a poor candidate for renovation.
Beyond the difficulties of renovating the school while students attend classes, the board was told it would cost more, take longer to complete and would likely be ineligible for state reimbursement.
If that were the case, the district would have to pick up the full construction cost. It is anticipated the state could pick up about 11 percent of the project costs, if the application to build a new school is approved.
Coping with a 70-year-old building
Built in 1953 as a junior high, Long Lots has deteriorating mechanical and electrical systems, and problems with leaks.
“We are doing the best we can,” said Ted Hunyadi, the district’s director of facilities, adding that the structure’s heating and cooling systems require constant monitoring and adjustments.
Recent test results have come back clean, the board was assured, but since 2018, air quality and ventilation concerns have prevented some rooms in the school from being used.
Long Lots Principal Kimberly Ambrosio told the board that the school’s junior high-sized footprint — with an oversized gym and auditorium — is highly problematic for today’s elementary-aged students.
There is a lot of dead space and classrooms are ill-equipped for a student body of 597 kindergarten through fifth graders.
“It is not ideal for 21st Century learning,” Ambrosio said.
Scarice called the project the centerpiece of the board’s new capital plan.
Studies of water levels, drainage promised
Board endorsement of pursuing the “building new direction,” Scarice said, would allow for a series of studies of the site — including environmental and ground water —to be conducted this summer.
That would provide a better understanding of the water table and storm water drainage.
“It would be scrutinized at all levels,” Symonds said.
Educational specifications would be drawn up in the fall, and grant applications made by next spring. By the fall of 2026, there could be a new school.
Board member Dorie Hordon said she is supportive of a new building, but had questions about why the state would favor a new build over renovations.
Officials also were asked at what point a traffic study would be conducted. They were told if a traffic survey is done, it would be prior to filing a grant application.
Residents say concerns have not been addressed
Edie Anderson, a Hyde Lane resident, told the board she is not against a new building, but feels options have not been adequately addressed or really considered.
Anderson said when her daughter went through the school system, she endured several construction projects and moves, yet had a fabulous education and became a successful person.
Staff and not the school buildings made the difference, she said.
“My biggest concern is that you have zeroed in based on one recommendation,” Anderson said. “Plan 2A completely disrespects and impacts life and quality of people very close to that situation.”
Anderson said the plan would put the school within 50 feet of several homes. She said the existing structure is in a perfect, central location on the site.
“Water doesn’t go up hill, it goes down hill and I am two feet lower than that field [where it is proposed the school be built],” Anderson said. “Having a two-story, 110,000-square-foot facility in the middle of a residential neighborhood is really, I think, just unconscionable.”
Joellen Bradford said her property runs along Muddy Brook, and during major storms, there are floods.
“The fact that you’re building on the lowest part of the property where there are the most water issues is my concern,” Bradford said.
Her husband, Sam Bradford, said promises, made by the town in the past to take care of drainage issues in the neighborhood have not been kept.
“We are still getting flooded,” he said.
Martha Corneck, a Hyde Lane resident, agreed with her neighbors.
Muddy Brook passes through her property.
“My property has many issues” with water already, Corneck said.
Linda Conner Lambeck is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Westport Journal. Learn more about us here.
Our property abuts the lower soccer field. The drianage issues and tree mainrenance along the field’s perimeter have been historically ignored by the Town, Adding a 2-story structure with its attendant storm water run-off will only exascerbate the current drainage issues for neighboring homes. The south part of the property currently accomodating the community gardens seems a great deal more appropriate for the construction of a new school building. I would aver that the present soccer filed is utilized by more families for sports recreation than the community gardens patrons. Given the Town’s history of serious mold problems in its schools and the attendant costs of remediation, it seems to defy logic that the proposed Long Lots solution would utilize that part of the school property that has historically presented drainage problems. Traffic on Hyde Lane is already congested only to be made worse by situating a new building on the lower soccer field.