On May 12, following a school consolidation feasibility study that assessed factors including student enrollment and district building conditions, the East Haven Board of Education forwarded a $98.6 million consolidation plan that will consolidate the district’s six elementary schools down to three schools.

The plan now heads to the mayor’s desk, the Town Finance Committee, and then to Town Council for approval and discussion.

According to the plan, the Ferrara, Overbrook, and D.C. Moore elementary schools will be closed down. The middle school will change its grade structure to grades 5 to 7; grade 8 would move to the high school.

The consolidation plan is part of addressing fiscal responsibilities in the midst of declining enrollment in the East Haven School District.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Portia Bonner explained the financial aspect of the $98.6 million price tag, saying, “Out of the estimated cost, the town pays one-third and is reimbursed two-thirds, so when you look at it in actuality, the cost is much closer to $30 million.”

Bonner said there were a lot of benefits, which include bringing schools up to “21st-century learning [standards], addressing school climate and security, handicapped access,” and much more.

State Representative James Albis agreed, saying he trusts in the work of the Board of Education.

“Engaging in some consolidation is a good thing,” he said. “We spend more per pupil in East Haven because of the administrative cost of all the school buildings.”

In regard to the cost, Albis reiterated that East Haven has a nearly 70 percent reimbursement rate.

Cost and consolidation weren’t the only topics discussed in the plan, which mentions different themes for each elementary school, such as arts and history, as well as science, technology, engineering, and math education, also known as STEM.

Bonner explained the strategic action plan, saying the project’s four-year timeline would begin in the 2015-2016 school year with a planning year for the administration and the different unions.

The first year “will be all about planning. We will be looking at what we need to put in place to bring 8th grade to the high school in the 2016-2017 school year. That’s all 8th-grade district students, including those from the [East Haven] Academy.”

Bonner said the detailed planning would entail “looking at scheduling and personnel, providing staff professional development, looking at class assignments, the transportation component, and orientation [and] informational sessions for parents.”

Bonner adds, “Once that move happens, we will be looking at how to reconfigure the grades 5 through 7, looking at 5th grade moving to the middle school, and how that will impact our schools,” and many other aspects before the kids can be moved.

At the end of 2016 the plan is to close Ferrara Elementary and redistrict those 3rd- and 4th-grade Ferrara students. Bonner said they would then “look to lease Ferrara Elementary School to Pathways [which currently uses Hayes] and close down Hayes, returning that building to the town.”

The 2017-2018 school year will begin with the design and renovations of the middle school complex, which includes the Academy. The plan would end in 2019-2020 with the completion of the design and renovation of the three elementary schools.

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