Politics & Government

Groton School District Goes Back To The Drawing Board

Schools Will Be Fixed One-By-One

The defeat of the school construction plan amounts to a significant loss in state subsidies, said veteran school building design committee members, and a plan so tightly woven that it can't be separated without unraveling completely.

"I was disappointed," said Superintendent of Schools Paul Kadri. "I thought the town would be excited about a zero percent increase in taxes and a plan to make the schools better, but obviously that didn't happen." 

The proposed education budget reflects a 3.16 percent increase in the next fiscal year. If the school construction plan had passed, the budget would reflect a zero percent increase due to the immediate savings gained from closing a middle school.

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The Board of Education proposed to construct a new middle school for seventh and eighth grades where the Claude Chester Elementary school now stands and to transform S.B. Butler Elementary and West Side Middle School into early childhood education centers for pre-kindergarten through first grades. 

Fitch Middle School and Pleasant Valley Elementary School would have permanently closed and the remaining elementary schools would have hosted second through sixth grades. Cutler Middle School would have been renovated and converted into an elementary school. 

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"I feel bad because it was good for students at all grade levels," said Kadri. "And it was good for taxpayers." 

Voters overwhelmingly defeated the plan, with 1,437 in favor and 4,184 against.

The plan is valued at $133 million but with the expected reimbursement rate of 66 percent, the cost of the project was anticipated to be around $65.8 million. That rate expires on June 30. When and if another plan is proposed, Groton will be eligible for a 57 percent reimbursement, or $9.1 million less. 

"I'm very surprised," said Robert Peruzzotti, a Board of Education member. "We've lost a lot of money." 

"We can't leave the schools the way they are now," said Peruzzotti, "(but) there's no way you can split it up," he said of the Phase II plan. 

 "There is no plan now," said Town Councilor Bill Johnson.

"We can't afford to wait around for a new Phase II plan," said Brian Shirvell, chairman of the board of education. He said the next step would be for the board to submit requests to have engineering studies done on the schools, then submit capital improvement plans for the schools, one or two at a time. 

Shirvell said an engineering study for a football field costs $50,000, and a study for a school building could be significantly more. 

Andrew Parrella, chairman of Friends For Affordable Education, a political action committee that opposed the plan, said he hopes to sit down with the Board of Education, superintendent, Town Council and the Representative Town Meeting and come up with a suitable plan.

Tim Plungis, vice chairman of the political action committee, said he was happy with the outcome of the referendum and has some ideas about how to revamp the school district. 

"We're excited, we think it's a good thing for the town," he said. "We're not starting from scratch.  There are some ideas on the table."


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