From top left: GFS roof, SES gym partition, Staples balcony and lights - Photo Town of Westport
From top left: GFS roof, SES gym partition, Staples balcony and lights – Photo Town of Westport

By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT–Another meeting, another look at capital improvement projects the school district hopes to tackle in the upcoming year.

This time, at the conclusion of a lengthy school board meeting on Thursday, there was also a unanimous vote just before midnight to send the $3.6 million package to town funding bodies.

Mentioned in September when the board sought a supplemental appropriation for 2025 projects and reviewed by both the full board and the board’s finance and facilities committees over the past month, the 108-page package includes funding for eight projects:

  • District Wide Painting Exterior Facade Components ($173,000)
  • Replace Motorized Folding Partition at Saugatuck Elementary School gym ($181,500)
  • Upgrade Staples High School Auditorium Lighting and Sound ($3,038,000)
  • Install Wireless Access Points to Staples Athletic Fields, design costs
  • Concession Stand for Staples Fields and Bathrooms, design costs
  • Renovate Staples Girls Locker Room (New Team Room), design costs
  • Upgrade Science Labs at Bedford Middle School, design costs
  • Roof Replacement and Repair, Exhaust Fans at Greens Farms Elementary School, design costs

Elio Longo, the district’s chief financial officer, deemed some of the projects big, and some which could prompt site visits by Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting members asked to approve funding for the projects.

Painting

The exterior painting–some $173,000 worth–would include seven of the district’s eight schools. Long Lots, which is being replaced, is not included.

Staples fields / stands / bathrooms

Modifications to the Staples athletic fields and creation of a concession stand and restrooms, as well as upgrades to bleachers, the press box area and possibly softball and baseball turf and lighting are in the planning stages. The $50,000 sum requested would provide designs that inform the district’s master plan. Whether the work is done piecemeal or all at once is yet to be determined. The work itself, if approved next year, could cost close to $490,000.

“After Election Day, we will talk to the new first selectman and Parks and Rec,” Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said at an earlier meeting. “We will need to partner with the town.”

Locker room

Changes to the Staples High girls’ locker room would carve out space for a team room, or two. The boys have such a room. The girls do not.

The girls’ locker room was deemed to be oversized. The design costs, bids for which have already been received, are in the $30,000 range. The actual changes could cost $154,000 and could be completed next summer or the following, the board was told.

Science labs

Some $32,000 is requested toward the design of new science labs at Bedford Middle School. The work itself could cost $430,785, according to documents presented to the board.

Board Member Abby Tolan raised some questions about the lab renovations.

The current labs are dated, with fixed tables and gas jets running through them that haven’t been used in years, she was told.

New labs would put Bedford on a par with the Coleytown Middle School labs, which were redone when the school was remodeled.

“It’s also an equity issue,” said Board Member Kevin Christie.

Gym partition

Replacing the folding partition and motorized operating unit in a partition that is 59-years-old in the Saugatuck Elementary School gymnasium will cost $181,500, according to district officials.

Greens Farms School

Replacing / repairing the existing roofing areas and replacing the existing exhaust fans which have surpassed their warranty.

Staples auditorium

The Staples auditorium project would cost a little over $3 million.

What began as safety concerns with rigging systems has mushroomed with every inspection of the 30-year-old space.

The new money will also fix stage lighting and sound, plus give the space a new loading gallery. It will not, however, address auditorium seating, flooring or house lighting, Board Member Robert Harrington pointed out.

“The auditorium after all that will, is still going to, look kind of the same,” said Board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon.

“It won’t sound the same,” said Schools Superintendent Scarice.

“The sound is a big deal,” added Board Chair Lee Goldstein.

It is anticipated that the work will take 15 weeks to complete. If not started in the spring of 2026, it would not be complete for the start of school in the fall.

Some have suggested the work be put off until 2027 if town funding approvals do not come soon enough.

Administrators Union

In a separate action, the school board voted unanimously to accept a pending agreement with the Westport Intermediate Administrators’ Association. The 39-member union represents building level principals, assistant principals and coordinators.

Assistant Superintendent John Bayers said the three-year contract, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, will give union members raises of about 3.5 percent each year. At the same time, insurance premiums will increase one percent each year. The cost of the increase amounts to about $793,000 over the life of the contract.

Recent Westport Journal coverage of Westport schools

Linda Conner Lambeck

Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.

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