WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Windsor Locks school officials are taking a new look at how many buildings the district will need as enrollment declines.
A long-term planning task force is reviewing enrollment projections, the cost of operating each school, transportation and how space is being used across the district. The group is expected to present options to the Board of Education by Dec. 10.
No school has been selected for closure or consolidation. The district said the process is intended to produce several possibilities for the next five to 10 years, not confirm a decision that has already been made.
The central question laid out in the district's Oct. 8 Board of Education packet is: "If our district is serving approximately 1,200 students ten years from now, what should Windsor Locks Public Schools look like?"
The 1,200 figure is a planning scenario, not the district's current enrollment or an announced target. The task force will review updated projections before making recommendations.
District documents say enrollment has changed substantially and the decline appears to be more than a one-year shift. They also note that available space is not evenly distributed among the schools and that building costs must be considered alongside educational needs.
The Board of Education created the task force unanimously Sept. 8. Members initially discussed a yearlong review but agreed to finish the work by December in hopes that recommendations could affect the 2027-28 budget, according to meeting minutes.
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The task force includes school board members, administrators, teachers, parents, students, town representatives and members of the Board of Finance and wider community.
By Oct. 22, the group plans to complete its initial review of enrollment trends, building expenses, transportation and educational considerations. Families, employees and residents will also be surveyed.
Financial effects are scheduled to be studied in November, when the district also plans to hold community forums. The task force will then develop one or more building-use scenarios for the school board to consider.
The district's facilities-planning page says the task force was not created to reach a predetermined conclusion. Its stated goals include studying the data, listening to the community and developing options for the future.
Windsor Locks went through a similar discussion about a decade ago. During the district's 2016 facilities study, possible ideas included closing a school, expanding North Street School and creating two elementary schools serving prekindergarten through Grade 5, according to a district community post published by Patch at the time.
The current task force meets again Oct. 21, followed by meetings Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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