Projects Almost Done, 2019-20 School Calendar Set In Vernon

VERNON, CT — Projects to improve traffic flow at Center Road School and make the Skinner Road School a bit safer have highlighted the August landscape before school begins in Vernon at the end of the month.

Aug. 26 and 27 are designated at professional development days.

The first day of school is scheduled for Aug. 28 with a a pre-K orientation on tap. Pre-K students are officially reporting the following day.

The last day of school is projected to be June 11.

See the entire 2019-20 calendar here.

Pathways have ben taking shape on the campus of Skinner Road School as part of a project to make it easier to get around the area.

The work has been taking place at the same time Skinner Road itself is being paved. A $490,000 federal Safe Routes to School grant, administered by the state Department of Transportation, is paying for the school work. The exact price tag has not been tabulated because of cost-saving measures via internal labor, town officials said.

The pathways at Skinner are designed make it easier for walkers to get around the rear section of the school and connect the rear property to neighboring roads, Town Engineer David Smith said.

A project designed to alleviate congestion at drop-off and dismissal times is almost done at Center Road School. Vernon Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said the $300,000 project is utilizing funds from the school board's capital non-recurring account.

With 524 students, Center Road is the largest of Vernon's five elementary schools. Traffic at both drop-off and dismissal times has tended to get snarled by a lack of parking and cars and buses using the same entrance and exit patterns.

Parents often double- and triple-park when spaces fill up and gridlock is not uncommon. Macary said a two-pronged approach toward making traffic flow more smoothly involves a new driveway and parking area.

The driveway is being cut at the far north side of the campus off Center Road. As of now, he said, Buses will enter the campus there, head around the side of the building and drop off at a yet-to-be determined rear door near the gym and cafteria. Parents will likely use the main circle as a drop-off area, he said.

Things could change based on experience, Macary said. A similar plan worked at Skinner Road School, he said.

A new parking lot is being constructed at the rear of the campus, adjacent to the police station and the current CRS playground. The lot will be shared by the school and the police when needed.

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For more back-to-school tidbits, see:
https://patch.com/us/dealtown/back-school-essentials-2019-backpacks-laptops-supplies