Greenwich RTM Overwhelmingly Approves Central Middle School Funding

GREENWICH, CT — The Central Middle School project took a big step forward on Monday night when the Representative Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved an appropriation of $42,017,000 for construction.

Following the Board of Estimate and Taxation's approval last week, the RTM convened a special meeting Monday to consider the appropriation. The vote was 179 in favor, four opposed with two abstentions.

The vote also included a bonding resolution and another resolution that authorized the Greenwich Board of Education to apply for a construction grant with the state.

To date, $112 million has been committed towards building a new 125,000-square-foot school on the site of the current building.

Many residents spoke in favor of the appropriation Monday night and urged fellow RTM members to vote yes. Those for the appropriation said the project and plans were thoroughly vetted, and the funding was needed without delay to move the process along.

Michael Spilo, the principal opponent of the appropriation and one of only four people to vote no, felt that the building was too big and too expensive and costly for taxpayers.

Others who have opposed the appropriation have voiced similar concerns.

"Think freely," he said to the audience. "You know this school is too large, it's designed to accommodate kids who haven't been born, from homes that haven't been built and may never be built. You know this design is wasteful and expensive."

Spilo said the process was "broken from the beginning and was being misused politically," and likened it to the MISA project at Greenwich High School from several years ago.

"A misuse is designed to force the vote now before the election specifically to attack some candidates as anti-schools," Spilo said. "Let's work together and build a great school the right way, the smart way, and given enough time, the sensible way. Think freely, be brave, vote no," Spilo said.

Board of Education Chair Joe Kelly, wearing a hard hat and seemingly ready for construction to begin immediately, said he's been a part of over 200 meetings related to CMS, and various professionals have weighed in to determine the best path forward on the project.

"We went over this in hundreds of meetings about what had to be done. I believe this is the project that has to move forward," Kelly said.

Clare Kilgallen, a member of the CMS Building Committee, pushed back on the idea that the process was politically driven.

"You have my commitment, you have my commitment of every single member on that building committee that we are doing deep, hard work, probing questions and being thorough," she said.

"Somebody is suggesting this is about politics. This is about time and money. It's our duty under the charter of this town to build this building. We're not the unbuilding committee, we're the building committee," Kilagallen added. "We are the proponent for this project. We are not neutral, we are supposed to make the project happen... Please deliver an early Halloween treat to the children and residents of this town."

Several local elected officials spoke in support of the funding, including state Reps. Rachel Khanna (D-149), Stephen Meskers (D-150) and Hector Arzeno (D-151), who said they will fight for reimbursement from the state.

"We will work tirelessly to get the bonding approved up in the capital, but without the authorization, none of it happens. The delays in the authorization will delay our ability to go out and to bid and we will delay ultimately the construction," Meskers said.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said arguments about size, cost and the Municipal Improvement process with different projects have been going on in town for decades.

"But Greenwich gets it done," Camillo said, "and we're going to get it done here."

Following the vote to approve, there was applause from the audience.

According to a timeline and next steps from project officials, bidding and awards could happen in July 2024, which would allow construction to start in October 2024 and conclude in June 2026.

A grant application is expected to be submitted to the state for partial reimbursement of the project cost.

CMS was condemned in February 2022 after inspectors voiced concerns over structural safety. The building was fortified and repaired, but a new facility is needed in the next few years.

The proposal calls for a new 125,000-square-foot building to the north of the existing building in the area of the ball fields and a wooded slope in the northern section of the property.
A new extended driveway to the building would be built, along with a separate bus loop and new parking areas.

The existing school would be demolished and replaced with new athletic fields. The rock outcropping on the property at the entrance to the school would be removed to make space for the new fields.