By Bill Drake
Sentinel Columnist
Greenwich Public Schools have proposed a much-needed expansion and improvement of the New Lebanon School. The School is overcrowded and more classrooms are needed. The New Lebanon enhancements are a key component of Greenwich Schools’ plan to achieve racial balance, which was approved by the State Board of Education. The community, the Board of Education, the Selectmen and the Board of Estimate have all expressed strong support for the project.
The present school has 14 classrooms, and the future school will have 21. The current undersized cafeteria, gymnasium and media center will be expanded from 7,200 to 14,000 square feet. The school population is expected to increase from 265 students to 374, which includes the addition of 45 in pre-kindergarten and 50 incoming students as part of the town’s magnet program to achieve racial balance. The new school will offer the International Baccalaureate program, an innovative educational model currently used at other Greenwich schools.
In June, the Board of Selectmen voted to commence planning for the new school. The approved scheme placed the new school largely on the high part of the site where the current school sits, with a small wing to the east in the in the low part of the site, which everyone calls the ravine. In September, Tai Soo Kim Partners of Hartford was selected as the architect. Tai Soo Kim has designed over 45 public school projects in Connecticut. The architects presented three design options to the Building Committee in a public forum in November. The Committee voted 7-0-1 for a design that placed the new school entirely in the ravine. The Board of Education then voted 7-1-0 to refer this design concept to the Board of Selectmen.
On Dec. 16, the Board of Selectman voted unanimously to reject this design. This compels the architect to redesign the building to fit on the high part of the site. The expected design will be a long, narrow school on the footprint of the current school, with a new multi-story wing in the ravine comprising the gymnasium, cafeteria and other spaces.
The project timeline provides for the architect to develop a design for the project by May 2016. Next, the construction manager provides the design and specifications to subcontractors for excavation and foundation, steel fabrication and erection, plumbing, mechanical, interior carpentry, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and other trades. By the end of 2016, these subcontractors will provide firm quotes, allowing the construction manager to set a guaranteed maximum price for the project. Actual construction should commence when the school year ends in June 2017. Construction is planned to be completed in time for student occupancy in September 2018. This is a tight construction schedule.
The soil at the school site shows pesticide chemicals in some areas. The concentrations are safe by the state standards for direct contact, but above the standards for possible migration into groundwater. Excavated soils from the site will need special treatment or disposal. In the adjacent William Street ballfield, arsenic is present which will require remediation. During construction, the field is likely to be occupied by construction materials and equipment. The field remediation should commence shortly, so as not to interfere with construction.
Unfortunately, the adjacent ballfield is almost never used by students for physical education. It is not convenient to the school entrance, and it is also undersized. The school project provides the opportunity to remedy these failings by enlarging the field to make room for soccer as well as baseball. An optimized field with an artificial turf surface and direct access from the new gymnasium would provide one of the best physical education facilities among the Town’s 11 elementary schools.
The New Lebanon project will be expensive. The capital plan forecasts total project costs of $40.7 million. The state has estimated that the proposed plan qualifies for 68 percent reimbursement as a diversity grant. Additional costs of $2.1 million are planned for the displacement of the New Lebanon students to temporary modular classrooms at Western Middle School during construction. Among town projects, only the police station and MISA have had greater costs.
Greenwich’s public schools have very high standards. The New Lebanon project has a high profile and generates great interest from many citizens. The building’s design, finances, field layout and other attributes will be developed in the coming months. The improvement of New Lebanon School will result in an excellent outcome for the students.
Bill Drake is a member of the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the vice-chairman of the New Lebanon School Building Committee. He attended Greenwich Public Schools and is a professional investor.
