Schools
New Schools Among Recommendations Of Board Of Education Committee In Vernon
A meeting to present the Vernon school board's facilities study committee recommendations is on tap for next week.
VERNON, CT — The consolidation of two schools in one area of Vernon and a whole new school in another area of town are among the recommendations of the Board of Education's Ad Hoc 10-Year Facility Study and Master Plan Committee.
Those concepts and more will be on the agenda for a "Community Conversation" scheduled for Tuesday in the Vernon Center Middle School Auditorium.
The meeting is slated to commence at 6 p.m.
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Vernon school administrators will offer an overview and then turn the meeting over to group conversations in focus groups.
The committee has presented three major recommendations:
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- Closing Maple Street School: The building, the committee said, is "approaching the end of its useful life" and thus would be closed. Maple and Northeast School would be consolidated into one new school on the site of Northeast, according to the recommendation.
- Replacing or modifying Lake Street School: The recommendation is based on a "due diligence study" and Northeast School would be used as a swing site during construction.
- Improving HVAC systems: Mechanical, environmental, electrical and plumbing issues ned to be addressed at Rockville High School and Vernon Center Middle school over the next decade and an analysis of the systems at Center Road School and Skinner Road School must be conducted, according to the committee.
When renovating or building new schools, municipalities traditional have to front the money, but then get paid back in part, by the state.
According to Ct.gov, in Connecticut, reimbursement for new school construction projects ranges between 10 percent and 70 percent, with the exact rate determined by the town's wealth (adjusted equalized net grand list per capita). Renovations can secure reimbursement of between 20 percent and 80 percent, according to state officials.
Vernon's current state reimbursement rate is 70.42 percent, officials said.
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Those wishing to attend should provide their full names to dritchotte@vernon-ct.gov.
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