By Elizabeth Barhydt, Publisher
UPDATED SAT FEB 5
On Friday morning, a red tag reading, “This structure has been declared dangerous and unsafe for human occupancy” was taped to the doors of Central Middle School. Those doors are now closed indefinitely.
Board of Education chair, Kathleen Stowe, said that “as a Central parent myself, I’m very focused on what the plan is for Monday. The administration will be working on this all weekend.”
Almost 600 students are affected by this closure. According to sources on the Board of Education, options reviewed as of Friday night were alternate locations including Trinity Catholic (which, according to someone with direct knowledge, has already been leased), locations in Stamford, and requesting a waiver from the Governor for ongoing remote learning.
Laura Kostin, a newly elected Board of Education member said that, “We are all hoping a solution is found so that families have some clarity during this very difficult time. There is nothing more important than the safety of students and staff.”
On Saturday, an update was sent out from the Superintendent, Dr. Toni Jones, thanking parents for their “patience, understanding, and support” and giving them the “plan for this upcoming week, February 7-11.” It is to have students relocated by grade to Cos Cob School, Eastern Middle School, and Greenwich High School. Dr. Jones did request an exemption from the state for remote learning but she wrote, “the State of Connecticut has not changed its stance that remote learning for any reason other than health-related quarantine is not an option.”
What Happened Last Week
On December 28, 2021, Diversified Technology Consultants conducted a comprehensive three-day structural evaluation of the school. The Board of Education and the BET received the Systems Evaluation Report (the link can be found at the end of this article) on January 28, which included disturbing conclusions about the safety of the school.
The report summary cited “significant structural concerns” and went on to explain that “by design the taller masonry walls have insufficient lateral bracing for wind and seismic loads. This results in bowing and displacement of the masonry walls and adjoining facades. Wall ties that connect façades to masonry walls are beyond service life and failing, and this poses safety concern.” (Photos of building included in this article are from the Systems Evaluation Report)
Newly elected BET member Nisha Arora said, “I requested a tour on Monday to see the building to get a firsthand intimate look at the school.” Other BET members ended up joining that tour as well as GPS COO Sean O’Keefe. What she found was concerning enough for her to further request that the school be moved to the top of the priorities list. “We have to find a way to get this done as soon as possible,” she said. Arora received the January 28 report at the same time CMS parents received it, on Wednesday.
Central Middle School was deemed dangerous and unsafe on Friday but there is much more to this story.
The report should come as no surprise to anyone who has been involved in the Board of Education over the past five years, according to Peter Sherr and many others close to the issue. “BOE members were warned five years ago about the structural issues at Central Middle School,” he said.
Over and over former and current BET members and BOE members have expressed frustration about the process and level of expertise applied to capital projects and maintenance of school infrastructures. “Pet projects are consistently requested over priority projects and nice to haves over have to haves,” according to one former BET member. That sentiment was echoed repeatedly in calls all day on Friday.
A Request for a Comprehensive Plan in 2017
The red-tag closure comes after a long series of warning signs that date back to a report commissioned in 2017.
In 2017 Jim Lash, former First Selectman, was serving as a member of the BET. At the time he asked for approximately $500,000 to be added into the Greenwich Municipal budget in order to direct the BOE to commission a detailed report on the town’s public school infrastructure. At the time, the BET was looking for recommendations on priorities for the next fifteen years so that a capital construction plan could be executed in a consistent, methodical way.
Lash confirmed in a discussion yesterday that the BET had asked for the money to evaluate and prepare such a report because they believed it was a necessity to a proper planning process. “The BET was trying to set up a real plan,” he said, “for renovating and modernizing all school buildings.”
Warning Signs in 2018
The 2018 report was issued by the architectural firm KG&D, which specializes in educational facilities, and is very clear that Central Middle School should have been a top priority. The summary recommendation from the report reads as follows: “Central Middle School – As mentioned earlier this building is recommended to be replaced with the exception of the new wing that was built in 2000. This building has a number of intrinsic structural issues and its exterior wall configuration and overall height make it very challenging to cost effectively renovate. A replacement building is proposed parallel to the current building on the north side (which is currently part of the playing field) so that the existing building can stay in service while the new one is constructed.” Full Report can be found by following a link at the end of this article.
High Level of Frustration with Lack of Long-term Planning
Some parents have had enough. In a recent letter to the editor of the Greenwich Sentinel, Elizabeth Tommasino wrote, “I am tired of reading news pieces and op-Ed’s where both entities blame the other for a missed opportunity, under-funding, poor project management, lack of maintenance, prioritization, etc.”
Many members new to the Board of Education and the BET would agree. The question some are asking is why, in the past five years has the relationship between the BET, the BOE and parents become so contentious. One past member of the BOE, speaking on the condition of anonymity, lays it directly at the feet of superintendent Dr. Toni Jones. “She was let go from her last two jobs for doing exactly the same thing. She creates these firestorms. Did you know about that?” he asked. That remains unconfirmed. What has been confirmed is that Dr. Jones was given the report when she first began her work as Superintendent.
Newly elected Board of Education member Cody Kittle expressed frustration saying that this is what poor governance and mismanagement look like. “This was not a secret,” he explained, “I spoke about it repeatedly during the campaign and it was one of my motivations for joining the BOE this term. The Board has known for years this was an issue and yet prioritized other projects. Even in our recent budget meetings, where a few of us pushed hard to accelerate the CMS rebuild, we were told repeatedly that we shouldn’t worry about this in the near term. Because of the red tape involved for capital projects, it will take years to rebuild CMS. All the more reason the deferring of this obligation is so baffling. Parents have every right to be mad.”
Moving Forward
There are many looking ahead to where the town goes from here. Dan Ozizmir, the new Chair of the BET had not been contacted yet by the superintendent or anyone from the BOE as of Friday, but he did say he is committed to working closely with the BOE to ensure the safety of our students and get them back to school as swiftly as possible.
Kittle explained his belief that “Mismanagement is not malice.” He said, “I think we need to recognize that everyone involved actually cares about the schools and the students, and it is just a question of who can do the job most competently. Clearly the BOE was lacking in this department, as evidenced by how it has prioritized projects. The new members are working very hard to change this.”
The Jan 28 Report cited a concrete foundation wall in the northwest corner that is settling differentially and leaning away from the building. The cause of this condition, the report said is storm water runoff which has no where to go but into and beneath the building removing key grains from the soils which support the footings.
Kathleen Stowe said we need to first “focus on required maintenance of the existing structure and then likely accelerate the timing of rebuilding the school.” She explained that she is working with a team made up of the “engineering firm who just completed the report and knows the building” and that “the town of Greenwich team is helping as well – the fire marshall, the building inspector, public works – a very experienced team.” She added that “the same emergency construction team who responded at North Mianus is ready to mobilize.”
Kittle expressed concern for the amount of money it will cost to maintain the existing structure at Central Middle School when the building will need to be demolished and rebuilt anyway while there are immediate structural and safety concerns. “It will likely cost half of what we are planning to spend on the brand new building just to keep the current one from falling apart which is why we need to do everything we can to rebuild CMS ASAP, and not defer this any further,” he said.
Arora said that she is here to solve problems. “My first responsibility is to our kids and second is as a fiscal fiduciary of the town. I am optimistic that we will be able to work with our BOE colleagues to accelerate and complete this project ahead of 2026. We have incredible intellectual and capital resources in this town. I believe that together we can solve this problem. We will get the schools built and we will do it quickly and efficiently.”
Stowe said the community would be updated as soon as she and her team have more specific information. “We will update the community as soon as we reach any conclusions.”
In the letter to parents on Saturday from Dr. Jones and Thomas C. Healy, the CMS Principal, they wrote that they, “remain optimistic that the engineers’ solutions and safety precautions will allow the Town of Greenwich Division of Building Inspection to provide a safety clearance for everyone to return to the building following Winter Recess on Tuesday, February 22.”
The link to 2018 report issued by the architectural firm KG&D
