What’s At Stake In Enfield’s School Referendum?

ENFIELD, CT — Brown stains cover parts of classroom ceilings. Window frames are rusting. Pieces of outside wall panels are missing. A desk and filing cabinets fill a small room described in a photo caption as a former closet.

Photos shared on Facebook and provided to Patch show some of the problems behind Enfield’s Nov. 3 school vote. Residents will decide whether to build new elementary schools or leave the town to work out another plan for its aging buildings.

The referendum, or public vote, asks residents to approve a $511 million school project. It would build four elementary schools and turn Eli Whitney Elementary School into Eagle Academy Therapeutic Day School. The town could borrow up to $89 million. Grants and other available money would cover the rest, according to the town’s official explanation of the ballot question.

Supporters, including the Enfield Democratic Town Committee, say the plan would do more than replace old buildings. It would give students more space for services and let children spend more of their early school years in one building.

Cracked Ceilings, Rusted Windows And Crowded Rooms

The supplied photo collection includes pictures identifying Henry Barnard Elementary School and Hazardville Memorial School. Other pictures show damage inside and outside school buildings.

Several pictures show rust and peeling paint around metal window frames. Material below the windows is breaking apart or missing. One photo shows an opening below a windowsill. Another shows a door with rust and peeling paint near the bottom.

Inside classrooms, large brown stains cover parts of ceiling panels. The photo captions say roof leaks caused the stains. Other pictures show long cracks in the ceiling, including one near an air vent.

Other photos show cracked floor tiles, damaged trim along the bottom of a wall and a gap between a wall and a window frame. Pipes run through holes cut into the top of a classroom storage unit.

One picture shows several cords connected near a classroom board. Another shows tape on an old wall speaker. A narrow room holds a desk and filing cabinets, including one with a speech therapy sign. Its caption says the room was a closet being used as an office.

The captions also raise concerns about too few outlets, windows with only one layer of glass and rooms that get too hot or cold. The pictures alone cannot show whether wiring breaks safety rules or whether any material contains asbestos.

More photos from Rick LeBorious’ campaign post about a school tour show brown stains across ceiling panels above classroom windows. An outside photo shows splintered wood and a large hole beneath a roof edge. Nearby metal supports are rusting.

Another picture shows a bathroom crowded with filing cabinets, boxes, papers and stacked stools. A toilet and sink are at the far end. A drinking fountain outside a bathroom has a handwritten “OUT OF ORDER” sign. The nearby floor has a chipped spot.

Classroom furniture is worn, too. One picture shows a long work surface with chipped edges and layers showing beneath the top. Paint is peeling from the metal storage spaces below it. Another shows a web of fine lines across a classroom window surface and wear around its frame. The photos do not name the school shown in each picture.

The district’s report on school building conditions describes other problems, including old building systems and a lack of room for student services.

At Hazardville Memorial, the report lists worn outside building parts, plumbing and moisture concerns, limited power for electrical equipment, sound problems and too little space set aside for special education. At Barnard, some staff who provide extra student support work in spaces far from students. Those rooms were not designed for that work.

At Stowe Early Learning Center, parts of the gym and cafeteria have become classrooms that must be rearranged each day. Two preschool classes moved to Enfield Street School because of roof leaks, the report says.

At Parkman and Whitney, special education services share space, and traffic is a problem. Crandall has aging building parts and concerns about the grounds. Eagle Academy needs more room for students, job training and facilities suited to students’ ages. The report also calls for more secure school entrances.

Why Supporters Say Repairs Are Not Enough

The Town Council’s April 20 special meeting minutes describe water problems, a repair option and the school needs behind the plan.

“We have already had students from Stowe displaced due to water issues,” committee Vice Chair Tina LeBlanc told councilors, as Patch previously reported.

LeBlanc said a repair plan would cost Enfield an estimated $95 million. It would still leave problems with heating and cooling, space for school programs, crowded rooms, security and parking. Councilor Marie Pyznar, the Republican candidate for the 58th House District, supported putting the plan to a public vote. She also asked about a backup plan and whether costs could rise as construction continued over several years.

Consultant Jeff Wyszynski said the estimates already included expected price increases in later years. LeBlanc said the larger Eagle Academy could serve about 75 more students.

Why Asbestos Makes Repairs Harder

Enfield journalist Patrick Thibodeau wrote about another challenge: repairing schools with asbestos or materials treated as if they contain it. He explained his support for new buildings in an Oct. 10 column in Enfield Things.

After reading school inspection records, Thibodeau reported that asbestos flooring was removed from Hazardville Memorial’s main hallways in summer 2025. Other materials suspected of containing asbestos remain sealed and are checked rather than removed.

Thibodeau also reported that leaks caused ceiling tiles to fall or collapse in two classrooms before the roof was replaced. Those areas were fixed, he wrote. Repair work can disturb materials that contain asbestos or are treated as if they do, making the work harder to plan.

“I don't see how we renovate these buildings piecemeal without spending millions,” Thibodeau wrote.

That information comes from Thibodeau’s reporting. Patch has not reviewed the asbestos inspection records itself. The EPA’s guidance on asbestos in schools says it can usually stay in place and be managed safely. Removal usually is not needed unless the material is badly damaged or will be disturbed by work on the building.

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Democrats Urge A Yes Vote

In a statement and graphics provided to Patch, the Enfield Democratic Town Committee asks residents to vote yes. It points to worn buildings, safer schools and fewer moves between schools for children.

The plan calls for new schools at Hazardville Memorial, Prudence Crandall, Edgar H. Parkman and Henry Barnard. Each would serve prekindergarten through fifth grade. Eli Whitney would become the home of Eagle Academy.

Enfield now separates kindergarten through second grade from third through fifth grade. Under the plan, children could stay in one elementary school for more of those years.

The Democrats say the new schools would be built beside the current ones. That would let children stay in their classrooms while construction takes place.

“This minimizes disruptions in our students’ daily routines and keeps their learning environment consistent,” the committee wrote.

The committee calls the current schools “beyond renovation” and says new buildings would cost Enfield less than repairs. That is the committee’s view. Officials also discussed a repair option in April, while warning that it would leave major problems unfixed.

LeBorious Supports Plan After School Tour

Rick LeBorious, the Democratic candidate for the 59th House District, also supports the school plan. In his campaign’s Facebook post, he urged residents to vote yes. He is running against Republican state Rep. Carol Hall. The district covers parts of Enfield and East Windsor.

LeBorious said he and his team toured the schools during the past month. He said the visit made clear to him that the four buildings need to be replaced.

“Our children and our teachers deserve safe, modern school buildings,” LeBorious wrote.

He also said the Democratic members of the Enfield Board of Education had endorsed him in the election.

Santanella Makes The Case For New Schools

State Rep. John Santanella, a Democrat seeking reelection in the 58th House District, is also Enfield’s deputy mayor. He faces Pyznar in the Nov. 3 election.

At the Sept. 2 council meeting, Santanella said a tool showing the plan’s tax costs should also show the cost of repairs without state aid, Enfield Things reported.

“That's the comparison. That's the choice,” Santanella said, according to the outlet.

In a separate Enfield Things article about his primary win, Thibodeau described Santanella as campaigning for the new elementary schools.

Mayor Gina Cekala argued that rejecting the plan would mean higher repair costs. Councilor Zach Zannoni said running four schools instead of six would save money, according to Enfield Things.

Where Republicans Stand

The council voted unanimously to send the plan to voters, including its Republican members, Enfield Things reported. That vote put the question on the ballot; it does not, by itself, show how each councilor wants residents to vote.

Hall, the Republican state representative seeking reelection in the 59th House District, said in April that “our elementary schools need renovating” and supported a public vote, as Patch previously reported. She faces LeBorious in November.

In September, Hall asked for an online tool showing residents how much the plan could add to their tax bills, according to Enfield Things.

“I think we got to be very honest with the voter,” Hall said, according to the outlet.

Pyznar also supported a public vote while asking about a backup plan and rising costs. Those statements show support for letting residents decide. They do not establish a separate yes-or-no endorsement of the final ballot question by either candidate.

In their Patch profiles, Republican state Sen. John Kissel and his challenger, Democrat David Kiner, both call for more state help with school costs. Their answers do not state a position on this referendum. The questionnaire covered broader state issues and did not ask specifically about the school ballot question.

What The Costs Mean

The Democrats say Enfield’s share of the new school plan would be $89 million, compared with at least $95 million for repairs. One graphic says the repair estimate is about 1½ to two years old. It warns that waiting will drive up costs.

The $95 million estimate also came up in April. It is a planning estimate, not an approved repair budget. A no vote would not automatically create a $95 million bill. The materials provided to Patch do not give a new repair estimate or show how quickly costs would rise.

Another graphic says project funding was guaranteed as of June 2026. The town’s official ballot explanation says it expects the state to cover about 83 percent of the project cost, but calls that an estimate. The question would allow the town to borrow up to $89 million and use grants and other available money. Patch has not confirmed a guarantee for the full expected state funding.

The $89 million borrowing limit does not include interest. In Enfield Things’ report on the Sept. 2 council meeting, Thibodeau reported that the town expected to repay about $145 million over 30 years, including the borrowed money and interest.

Residents will now decide whether to approve the plan. If it fails, the town will still need to work out how to handle repairs and the schools’ other needs.

The school plan is Question 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot. Changes to the town charter, its governing rules, are a separate Question 2. Election Day polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.