Beecher Road School Hosts Ribbon Cutting

The Town of Woodbridge held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of Beecher Road School’s renovation project on Tuesday May 31 at the school’s North entrance.

School staff and students celebrated with the Superintendent, First Selectman, the Board of Education and Building Committee, State Senator Joe Crisco and State Representative Themis Klarides and representatives from Energy Systems Group and engineering consultants AKF. The public also enjoyed a performance from the Beecher Road School student band.

The $13.4 million project was approved by referendum in February of 2014, and work on the project began the following summer. Most work was completed during two summers and in the evening to avoid disruption to the learning environment.

Energy Systems Group managed the building upgrade which included energy conservation measures, mechanical and controls upgrades, building envelope improvements, security enhancements and more. The project is expected to save the Town $283,937 in energy and operational savings annually.

“This project is the culmination of years of work by our Town volunteer Building Committee working with Town officials and Beecher Road School staff and the Board of Education,” said First Selectman Ellen Scalettar. “The Town is indebted to them for making the school environment healthier, more comfortable and more conducive to learning.”

“The completion of this project has been a long-time dream of mine,” said Woodbridge Superintendent Dr. Guy Stella. “I am so grateful to the Town and the taxpayers for investing in the necessary upgrades to our school.”

“We commend Beecher Road School and the Town of Woodbridge for their leadership and commitment to implementing innovative infrastructure solutions that have transformed the Beecher Road School into a technically advanced state-of-the-art school facility,” said Doug Tischbein, Energy Systems Group business development director. “We’ve been fortunate during this process to find great partners like AKF Group to help bring innovative projects like this to fruition.”

“Former First Selectman Ed Sheehy was persistent in keeping education a top priority,” said Building Committee Chair Jeff Kaufman. “First Selectman Ellen Scalettar, with her strong compassion for education, made sure that the project came to fruition. AKF and ESG became the masters of pulling all the loose ends together to give the Town a project that we can not only be proud of but be cutting edge and save money.”

Major work completed through the project includes a new roof on the A, B and C Wings, installation of 970 solar panels on the school’s roof, new window walls in the A and B wings, as well as completion of the new heating and air conditioning system, which is providing central air to the whole school.

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