Possible Major Madison School Changes on Hold After Concerns Over State Aid Reductions

MADISON, CT - Top school officials have pumped the brakes on a proposal that could drastically change the future of the school system.

The reason for the audible is the state is still considering massive reductions to Madison’s Education Cost Share grant. Madison could see its ECS grant cut by $1.5 million but that is not definite. The state is considering various options to plug a nearly $1 billion deficit.

Board of Education Chairwoman Jean Fitzgerald told the Madison Source, “We can’t abandon the study completely, because our declining enrollment and our aging facilities need to be addressed,” she said.

No timetable has been scheduled for when school officials will bring the plan back up but Fitzgerald told the Source she hopes within a year.

Madison officials are considering these three options for future school changes:

One option includes keeping all six school buildings open.

The second option includes closing one elementary school, likely either Island Avenue or Ryerson schools, and remodeling Jeffrey School and the other elementary school that isn't closed.

But the option that is appealing to many in the community, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice has said, is the idea of closing all three existing elementary schools, which are older facilities, and constructing a new Pre-K through grade 2 school.

Officials are examining possible areas where such a new school could be built and the costs, Scarice has previously said.

Read the full Madison Source story here.