By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT — More than a dozen speakers said it in different ways, but had a united message for school and town leaders Thursday night: Stop the delays and build a new Long Lots Elementary School as soon as possible.
“The parents in this town are done with this. This has to stop,” said Lou Getzelman, a parent addressing the Board of Education, after it heard an update from the Long Lots School Building Committee on the latest back and forth over the project.
As it stands, the state-mandated 8-24 application for the new school will be back on the Planning and Zoning Commission agenda for Jan. 22. It was withdrawn from an earlier zoning agenda after P&Z members voiced concerns about land-use issues, particularly the recommendation to replace Westport Community Gardens on the property with a baseball field.
First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker on Thursday filed a modified 8-24 request for the project that she called a compromise on the plans, which have been passionately debated for months.
The plan now calls for a multipurpose field, not a baseball field, and for the community gardens to be relocated on the site rather than eliminated. Exactly where it would be moved is not clear.
Speaking to the school board Thursday, Jay Keenan, chair of Long Lots School Building Committee, called the resubmitted plan a compromise to get the school built.
“We do stand by the original,” Keenan said. Ultimately, however, children have to come first, he added.
If the revised 8-24 application wins P&Z approval, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice asked if the new school is still on track to be completed by September 2026.
Keenan shook his head yes.
Behind Keenan in the audience, more than two dozen Long Lots faculty members, all dressed in red, along with parents, waited for a chance to speak.
Some questioned concerns for students’ welfare as debate over the project has dragged on.
Students are safe at the school, but are not thriving under current conditions, said parent Farrell Simon.
“Right now we have a fractured community,” Simon added. “It is broken over this issue, where we do not prioritize our kids.”
The school board voted to recommend replacement of the 70-year-old Long Lots in June 2022. The town’s school building committee came to the same conclusion last October, but also recommended a baseball field be added to the Hyde Lane property where the four-acre community garden now sits. That plan also was endorsed by Tooker — until she withdrew it earlier this month in reaction to P&Z members’ critical questions.
On Wednesday, with uncertainty over the revised plan making it back onto the P&Z agenda, Scarice emailed a letter to parents, emphasizing the importance of the project moving forward in a timely manner without delay.
“As determined by multiple professionals, the LLS facility is at the end of its useful life,” he wrote.
Long Lots Principal Kim Ambrosio outlined for the school board steps staff have to take each time it rains to keep school equipment from getting wet as water seeps in; how classes must be shifted when issues render rooms temporarily off limits, and about a small fire that occurred recently because of old wiring. It was spotted and doused quickly, the principal said.
“We have envelope and mechanical systems that are severely compromised,” Ambrosio said.
Dan Pritikin, a parent of two Long Lots students, said there is a lot of anger, outrage, frustration and confusion among parents. Some speakers called it political theater.
“If this is delayed anymore, I don’t know what we are going to do here,” Pritikin said.
“It’s just nuts,” added Joe Nader, another parent. “We need a school. We need it now.”
Representative Town Meeting Deputy Moderator Lauren Karpf said she has been advocating for a new Long Lots for nine years. She is hopeful the finish line is finally in sight
“This has been a brutal road,” Karpf said. “We cannot afford to jeopardize the timeline anymore.”
Board of Finance member Brian Stern, speaking as an individual, said in his judgment, the town deciding to spend up to $100 million — and doubling its debt — to build a great new school should be celebrated.
Instead, he said, “what I see is a communal despair, and sometimes anger. That has got to stop … Let’s make this a victory lap and not a point of anger and division in the community.”
To get back on track, Stern suggested a project timeline be established and published so that impact of any future delays are more apparent.
Keenan said assuming the project’s 8-24 application clears the P&Z’s review Monday, the plan would go to the Board of Finance for an appropriation, then head to the RTM. In between, a request for a quote from architects to design the new school would be sought.
Once an architect is hired, an actual design for the school and other elements of the project would take shape, Keenan said.
The goal is to file paperwork with the state to get on its reimbursement agenda before June 30.
When might shovels be in the ground, school board Secretary Neil Phillips asked.
That schedule depends on the design and related elements from the architect, Keenan said.
Parents want the project to start by the end of this calendar year.
Board member Robert Harrington expressed concern about whether the existing school can hold up for another two to three years as the new school is being built.
Scarice said building issues at the school are addressed as they come up.
Harrington was not satisfied. “I am not convinced the Long Lots school is safe to educate our children right now,” he said, referencing a recent Long Lots PTA meeting where he learned about 17 water incursions into the school during a single month.
Harrington said Scarice’s memo to parents this week also set off alarm bells about conditions at the school.“I think this board need to come up with clearer strategy to make sure the building is a safe building for the next two to three years,” he said.
“What did I say in the statement that suggested the building is unsafe?” countered Scarice.
The superintendent said the Long Lots building has been failing for years, but that regular air-quality tests register safe levels and that maintenance issues are dealt with as they arise.
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.
Mr. Stern has asked a very important question about the timeline of getting construction started. I don’t know when the RFQ, followed by RFP for design services would be issued, but I do know that this would take at least 2 months to award design contact after that date. The design process not only includes the multi-step design itself, but it also includes presentations to and approval by many regulatory and funding bodies. In the most optimistic of scenarios, this would take another 6 months. The construction bidding and award would take another 2.5 at least.
Yuly – care to explain?
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/nyregion/31contractors.html
I wanted to clarify that it wasn’t 17 water incursions in a single month, it was in a single incidence (storm). The total # of incidences in December was 23. As a previous TFS (Tools For Schools) member the IAQ (indoor air quality) reports have increased significantly each year. For example, the 2022 – 2023 school year was a total of 30. To date, the 2023 – 2024 IAQ reports are already at 48. The priority is to build a new LLS without further delays, but please don’t lose sight of the current state of the building.
There you go again, Mr. Scarice, with another newsletter today fanning the flames of unrest (i.e. advocating for “use of the entire campus,” which NOBODY KNOWS is necessary at this stage).
Stepping in to offer much-needed leadership, Brian Stern looked school and town leadership in the eye last night, and asked ALL OF US to stop the insanity wrought by mismanagement of the LLES project.
Someone in the room could only hear the cloying praise coming from his admirers but not the constructive criticism directed his way. So he wrote another newsletter to his fanbase, this time inducing political favoritism.
I suggest you spend more time getting the school fixed and less time rallying your militia, Mr. Scarice. Start by calling an exterminator to put down the wasps that have plagued your teachers and students FOR A YEAR.
The condition of the school, for which Mr. Scarice is responsible, is called into question by many parents, who declare it is unsafe for their children.
I would have rather liked to see today a newsletter with a timeline of your actions that will bring the school into an appropriate operational condition within the week.
There is no consistent or convincing response from the superintendent about the safety of the building, just more legal mumbo jumbo about “possible capital failures.”
In his unchecked campaign directed at parents, he gives just enough of a hint of fear to create cause for concern and near-panic among parents. His carefully worded official comments are wrapped in legal terms so as not to create liability but to incite concern. He knows how to thread the needle.
Confusion ensued. Is the school safe, or is it not, Mr. Scarice? If the answer is no, or maybe, or sometimes — please fix it now. If the answer is yes, please put your chainsaw away and stop the insanity.
You and Harrington are the only ones feigning confusion. The parents, faculty, and kids of the Westport PS are all aligned.
Having read dozens and dozens of letters from parents and staff at the PZC comment section, According to public comments submitted, the school is. rife with unsafe and unhealthy conditions in an ongoing basis. Water, wasps, hit, cold. Dozens and dozens of complaints. That is not normal. As a taxpayer, I am concerned about the wellbeing of the students and staff, and potential liability to the town.
I now can see why Stern resigned.
Bill, since you are looking for explanation and are looking to attack my character. I therefore am compelled to address the 15-year-old allegations of criminal conduct, raised in your comment. The allegations were false and were never proven to be true. I have a contemporaneous statement from my attorney, explaining this in detail, but looking at it in hindsight, a simple proof of innocence is that I’ve been maintaining my professional licenses without interruption. Also, I’ve been granted security clearances to work on sensitive government projects that require vetting for clear record. The allegations however achieved their objective of public embarrassment. In the world where everyone is googling everyone they meet, especially professionally, I got tired of telling people who I meet – Hello, I’m Yuly, I’m not a crook. So, I changed the spelling of my first name to Yulee for social interactions, not formally or with my employers. It is somewhat ironic, that I’m the one here who is being attacked for offering help to solve a mess, created by elected officials who look for scapegoats, like the Gardners to excuse their inability to plan ahead. Everyone is concerned about the current condition of the building. If the LLSBS didn’t play games with the numbers, fabricating the notion that renovation would be more expensive, the renovation project would have already started.