Brookfield Finance Board Green Lights New School

BROOKFIELD, CT — The finance board has unanimously approved spending for a new Huckleberry Hill Elementary School, the News Times is reporting.

The $78.1 million proposal passed unanimously during the board's meeting Wednesday night. The next step will be a public hearing, then a special town meeting in January.

The town plans to apply for a state grant. If the grant money is approved, the total cost to Brookfield for the new school will be $63.3 million. To be built on the site of the current Huckleberry Hill school, the new facility will serve grades pre-K through fifth.

The proposal calls for the current pre-K through first grade students to move out of Center Elementary School, representing an approximate of $400,000 in energy costs. The new school would pick up 5th graders from the middle school, allowing the town to demolish the portable classrooms which would have cost $700,000 to replace.

If the voters approve the proposal, construction would begin in the fall of 2020, with occupancy scheduled for the fall of 2022.

For more, see the News Times.