High School Renovation Plan Moves Ahead

On Tuesday evening, the Town Council voted 5-2 to appropriate $69.9 million for the renovation and expansion of Berlin High School and to authorize the issue of bonds for the project.  A public hearing held prior to the vote drew a crowd of about fifty people including members of the Board of Education and school and town officials.  Architect Dean Petrucelli presented details of the new plan, and several residents came forward to voice support or opposition, in roughly equal numbers.

Most of those who spoke against the plan contrasted the high price tag with the tough economic reality being faced by many town residents.  The opponents generally favored keeping tax rates as low as possible in light of other projects in the works and because they expect higher state taxes in the near future as well. 

"Everybody is in favor of not losing our accreditation and of spending a fairly significant amount of money to bring the school up to code," said town resident George Millerd.  He said those who voted against the $83 million plan are not against fixing the high school.  "It's just a matter of what the town can afford at this point in time," he said.

Millerd and others also referred back to the less expensive Option 1 plan that proposed fixing and expanding the current school for $25 million.  He asked if Option 1, which called for renovating about 7% of the existing school, would have addressed 100% of the school's needs. 

Architect Dean Petrucelli confirmed that while Option 1 did address all of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) code requirements and included the addition of a science wing, it did not address academic needs throughout the school or any other aspects of the facility that were outlined in the original Statement of Needs presented by the Board of Education.  This was one of several reasons why Option 1 was rejected, according to officials. 

Residents who spoke in favor of the new proposal viewed it as a worthwhile investment in the children and in the town.  Manuel Rigas urged people to view the plan not in terms of dollars, but in terms of giving children the best education possible.  "We have to make sacrifices to educate our children, and I'm willing to do that," he said. 

Peter Scalaro said that many people in Berlin simply don't want change.  He said people need to have a vision for the future and support this plan.  "We need to look at this competitively.  No one will want to move into town if the school system is not what it should be," he said.

Board of Education Chairman Gary Brochu also talked about the renovation plan as a community investment in the future.  "Things have changed," he said noting that the problems with the current high school are not due to lack of maintenance.  He said the school was built for 1950s educational needs, and it's not meeting the needs of students today. 

"If I purchased a 1953 car and maintained it, I can't expect it to perform like at 2010 car.  I can't expect it to have GPS, or anti-lock brakes or power steering.  I can maintain it all I wish, and I'm not suggesting that it's not of value, but I'm not going to win the Indy 500 with a 1953 Indy car," said Brochu.

Brochu said Option 1 offered only the bare minimum and left 92% of the school unchanged.  He said that for twice the cost of Option 1, the town can have an entirely new high school.  He acknowledged that the decision is difficult in this economy, but that a decision needs to be made for the educational needs of the students.  "If 58 years is not old enough to renovate the building, I guess the question we should ask is, when will it be old enough?" he said.

In order to bring the project to referendum, a petition must be filed by Monday, January 10^th. 

For more information:

The December 21^st hearing and town council meeting will be aired on Comcast Channel 96 and at U-Verse 99 on Wednesday, December 22nd and Sunday, December 26th at 6:00 p.m.

The proposal for the new high school can be viewed on the town website: http://www.town.berlin.ct.us/content/152/default.aspx

Officials have also encouraged residents to contact them directly with questions or to receive more information about the new proposal.