A project to assess the physical facilities of each of the schools and the administrative office of the Regional 4 School System (R4) is moving forward, with the Joint Board of Education (BOE) voting unanimously on Dec. 2 to select the architectural firm Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. (DRA).

The architecture, planning and interior design firm, which has locations in South Windsor and in Waltham, Massachusetts, specializes in K-12, career and technical, higher education, and independent schools and libraries, according to its website. It was founded in 1923.

On Dec. 2, Superintendent of Schools Brian White elaborated on the impetus behind the building study for new board members.

“We were especially interested in looking at the long-term, approximately 10 years out, facilities needs of our various buildings, knowing that they are of different ages and conditions,” said White. “We talked about understanding the capacity per student enrollment of our current buildings to understand the efficiency of space usage.

“We also talked a lot about air quality and understanding the condition of our HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] systems and building ventilation systems as it related to air quality,” he continued.

The timeline for completing the study is estimated to take “anywhere from three to six months,” said White.

The process to select a firm for the building study started this September, said R4 Finance Director Robert “Bob” Grissom, with the district opening a request for proposals (RFP) and an RFP committee narrowing the candidates down from six to three, and then, after interviews, two.

R4 BOE Secretary Rick Daniels, who was a member on the RFP committee, said, “The group that we chose, we felt was probably the most deliberate and most thorough...in what their process would be. One of the groups, we thought was probably shooting to do the evaluation much too quickly and that it might not give us the best picture of what we needed to do as far as the district-wide capital projects.”

According to its website www.draws.com, DRA has completed campus master plans for West Hartford-based Northwest Catholic High School and Norwich-based Norwich Free Academy, as well as redesigned the admissions office of Farmington-based Miss Porter’s School, among many other academic clients.

“I think they really understood…the systems of schools,” said Deep River BOE Chair Miriam Morrissey. “They look at schools from the education point of view, like how does the building work to teach the kids instead of how you shove kids into a building. So, that was something we liked about them.”

The building study was discussed at great length during the budgeting process for the 2021–’22 school year, with all boards approving funds for it in each of their individual budgets, and a grand total estimated at $90,000 based on the square footage of each of the buildings.

Grissom reported that DRA would charge approximately $58,850 for the study, $31,150 less than budgeted.

The scope of the building study would entail various aspects of the physical plants of all three elementary schools, John Winthrop Middle School, Valley Regional High School, and the central office building. It would allow the district to plan for future capital expenses.

The district anticipates inviting DRA to the board’s next meeting, so that board members can learn more about the study’s scope and timeline. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 at 7 p.m.