“No-Brainer”: School Officials Urge Bonding for Repairs at Middlebrook, Question ‘Unclear’ Strategy at BOS

With the Board of Selectmen postponing its decision again this week on bonding $1 million for some internal repairs and renovations at Middlebrook School, school officials are now concerned that the funding they were expecting won’t be forthcoming.

“This should be a no-brainer,” Superintendent Kevin Smith told the Board of Education on Thursday night, Apr. 3.

The Board of Selectmen met twice this week to finalize the list of capital projects it will bring to voters at this year’s Annual Town Meeting. The selectmen narrowed it down to nine projects but asked for more information from Town facilities and pushed its final decision on the Middlebrook improvements Monday, Apr. 7.

Two other proposed projects at Middlebrook did make it onto the BOS’s approved capital projects list, including an exhaust fan replacement and an HVAC system installation in the gym.

In addition, with other repair work already scheduled for this summer for the building’s Peterson wing, Smith said it would be “an incredible lost opportunity” if the BOS does not OK funds for floor tiles, ceiling tiles and lighting replacement work that could be done at the same time.

“It’s going to be pretty close to a gut job,” Smith said, explaining that not doing all the work required in that part of the building would be illogical.

“I have questions about what led to the tabling,” said Smith, who wrote a memo to both the BOE and BOS regarding the matter.

On Wednesday, Apr. 2, the BOS unanimously approved close to $8 million for nine capital projects, including replacing the roof of Wilton High School‘s library, water-related repairs at Cider Mill School, school drainage and sidewalk repair work, and both the HVAC and exhaust fan projects at Middlebrook.

While the Town and Schools Needs Assessment Priorities Committee (TSNAP) recommended the tile and lighting project as its number-four priority on a list it’s been mulling over for months now, the question recently arose of whether it would even qualify as a bondable project.

At its Tuesday, Mar. 18 meeting, the BOS said it would seek more information from the Town’s bond counsel to confirm whether it would be allowed.

“It’s my understanding that bond counsel had already been consulted,” Smith said, prior to this week’s BOS meeting, “and had given approval of these types of bonding projects, not only for this year but in previous years.”

“I participated in the call with Robinson & Cole a week ago Wednesday,” he said, “and David Panico, who is the bond counsel for the town, had affirmed that the flooring, ceiling tiles — given a couple of low-threshold conditions — were permissible for bonding.”

Smith also said that, based on conversations he’s had with superintendents in other nearby districts, it was not unusual to bundle a bonding package together like what would be required for this particular project.

“The lack of clarity makes it difficult,” BOE member Patrick Pearson said of the BOS’s decision to table the question until Monday, Apr. 7.

“There was a lot of consensus, at least in the TSNAP group, that the schools were priority,” he said.

Smith, who serves on the TSNAP committee alongside Pearson, expressed additional concern about the process in general.

“My worry here is that we just haven’t collectively moved to a point in time where we have a clear strategy and plan to address all of these needs,” Smith said, with upwards of $100 million in school infrastructure work still lying ahead of the town over the next 10-15 years. “I feel like we’re still talking about how to locate them and I don’t want to be in a situation where we’re competing for dollars with the town, because there’s so much that needs to be done.”

“We should be able to have a process that makes sense … There should be clarity about what can be borrowed and what should be cash,” he said.

While Smith said he didn’t want to judge what transpired at Wednesday’s BOS meeting, he noted, “I was just surprised at some of the questions, because I feel like some of those questions were actually answered.”

“It would be my recommendation that this board proactively engage with the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance, or some subset, just to really come up with some guiding principles about how we’re going to move this forward,” Smith said. “The worst thing that can happen is we lose another year and that’s not good for anybody.”

BOE Chair Ruth DeLuca said she would attend Monday’s BOS meeting and be there to answer any questions that might arise.

Smith also noted that he and DeLuca are scheduled to do a monthly lunch meeting with First Selectman Toni Boucher, Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker, and BOF Chair Matt Raimondi on Friday, Apr. 11, when further discussions can take place.

DeLuca shared support for having a clearer process in place that involved all three boards.

“I think that these are really important projects for our buildings and for our schools,” she said.

BOE member Pam Ely shared a sense of disappointment over the delay.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said.

“We’ve just kicked it down the road for too many years and now we have to do it and do it right,” she said.

Smith said he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions on the BOS’s reasoning for postponing the approval.

“It could be a good reason,” he said. “Maybe they want to triple the amount.”

“If what was presented is accurate in GOOD Morning Wilton,” Smith said, “if there’s still a question of the permissibility, I’d like to know specifically what those questions are and what the hesitation is.”