Dear Middletown Voters:
On Tuesday, November 7th, I am urging voters to support the construction of a new middle school.
The referendum – Question # 1 – will appear on the ballot along with candidates for the Board of Education (BOE) and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The plan calls for the construction of a new three story $87 million Woodrow Wilson Middle School on Hunting Hill Ave in front of the current building. It will qualify for a 56.43% reimbursement from the State. The new school will enroll over 900 students for grades 6, 7 and 8. This reduces the number of BOE buildings, because Keigwin will be shut down as a standalone 6th grade school. The new three story middle school’s structure will be able to appropriately address the curricular needs of each child as they pass through their middle school years. The new building will bring the 6, 7, and 8 grades into the 21st century with all of the necessary technology, energy efficiency, and air-conditioning. The project will retain the pool and gymnasiums that will be turned over to the City’s Park & Recreation Department.
I’m completing my first 4 year term on the BOE. One of my first assignments was to chair the board’s facility committee. The committee assessed all of the BOE’s schools and determined that Wilson Middle needed to either be completely renovated or replaced with a new facility. After a detailed review by the building committee’s architects and a review by the state’s school facility staff, it was unanimously determined that building new was the appropriate choice.
Prior to serving on the BOE, I served on the Middletown High School building committee that actually oversaw the construction of the building on La Rosa Lane off of Newfield Street. It’s been operating for ten years. All of its bond costs will be paid off in the next couple of years. This project was delayed several years and its original costs went from the original $ 79.9 million in 2003 to $ 106.65 in 2006, a $26.75 million increase. Delays cost money, which is why the time to act is now. I strongly urge you to vote YES for a new 6, 7, 8 middle school. It’s needed, and long overdue.
Vincent J. Loffredo
Chair of Middletown BOE
BOE candidate seeking reelection
You got my support. Education is the key to success no matter where you live, and we need to keep moving forward with the times and technology.
ReplyDeleteJust please, promise us you will make sure it will be done correctly. Try to think of everything BEFORE BUILDING - don't skimp on common area spaces like auditoriums, gyms, cafeterias, music rooms, etc. Those are the very spaces that people from MANY organizations will want to use (and rent out). THOSE are the places where conferences can be held - the places that both educational and civic organizations look for to see if they can accommodate people from across the town, state and region. I've seen it happen in Hamden where the town skimped on the auditorium and couldn't accommodate all of its student body at one time. Not only did this fragment things like assemblies, concerts and graduations, but it LIMITED the number of ways the space can be used for bringing in outside organizations and events. Their town is now stuck with this mistake for years to come.
Please do it right - spend the extra dollar now, so that we have a state of the art facility that can last for 50+years and be a true asset to our town.