First phase of structural repairs to Bristol Elementary will be complete by April 20

BRISTOL — The Newfound Area School Board, which recently faced angry pushback from residents for its decisions on handling a tight budget, found itself basking in applause on March 30, after approving a plan to address safety issues at Bristol Elementary School without a big disruption to classes.

The two-phase solution requires students to work remotely for three days in April, while asbestos abatement takes place in the boiler room and crawl space of the 102-year-old portion of the school, after which they can attend classes in the unaffected part of the building while retaining walls are built to shore up the structure. By April 20, with the safety concerns addressed, classes are projected to resume as usual.

The second and more complicated phase of work would take place over the summer, addressing “permanent fixes which would be required for that school building to open in the fall,” according to Facilities Director Armand Girouard. He said the state fire marshal and town deputy fire chief would not allow reopening unless that work is done, to prevent further structural problems.

The Phase I cost is now projected to be $28,100, far less than the $50,000 estimate provided at the March 23 meeting.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for last week’s meeting,” Girouard said, “and we tried to put some numbers together. This extra week really helped me get a better understanding.

"I actually spent Thursday, most of my day, in the crawl space at BES with a tape measure and a pen and paper to figure this out. So by between myself, the structural engineer, and the project manager, we’re able to come up with that number. So Phase I, to get this completed in the next few weeks ... would be for up to $28,100.”

The Phase II cost is estimated to be between $237,450 and $324,975.

Superintendent Paul Hoiriis presented an alternative option, in case the school board decided not to approve the additional work: closing the school. Having already decided to close Danbury Elementary School next year, plans call for Danbury students to be bused to Bristol.

“This was drawn up by the entire administrative team of all of our buildings as we worked on this together,” Hoiriis said, explaining they looked at both options: keeping four buildings — Bristol Elementary, New Hampton Community School, Newfound Memorial Middle School, and Newfound Regional High School — operating, or reducing it to three buildings.

If BES were to close, New Hampton Community School would remain a pre-K through grade five facility, while the middle school would become a K-6 school. Seventh and eighth graders would move to the high school.

“This would fill every available classroom space at the middle school,” Hoiriis said, adding the district still would need to find space for special services, including behavior technicians “who work with some of our most challenging students."

"We need to be really creative in finding that space.”

He also noted the move would create a need for a new playground in Kelley Park, which could cost as much as $300,000. While some equipment could be moved from DES and BES, it would have to accommodate more than 300 children, and “would still require hiring a vendor, and they would need to certify the site and work on the site, which would still be at a substantial cost.”

State requirements include a need for separate exit plans, and placement of younger students on the main floor. That would mean expensive renovations, including moving science classrooms to other locations. The other problem would be completing the work in time for the fall.

At the high school, the seventh and eighth graders could be placed in one wing, but they would share cafeteria space, bathrooms, and locker rooms with high school students.

Public comment almost universally opposed that option. Residents argued, even if Bristol Elementary School has to close in a few years, the renovation money would not be wasted, because it would allow the architects to produce a well-thought-out consolidation plan for the future.

Jason Crosby, of Alexandria, said the consolidation study looking to move all classes into the middle and high school buildings is potentially a five-year plan. “And you know, judging by the way people vote, you know that plan could be even further out,” he said. “They keep voting down budget after budget. We should fix BES the right away, and keep these kids in a safe place for now, until we have the right setting. And we do things the right way, so all the kids are in a good place.”

Not everyone was on board. Liz Norton, of Bristol, who also teaches at Danbury Elementary, complained, “we’re closing a perfectly good, perfectly safe school in order to save this money, and then we are spending all this money in our maintenance trust fund to upkeep a building that, who knows, I don’t know, is not very safe.”

Ann Halloran, principal of New Hampton Community School, describing herself as “the most veteran administrator,” read a letter from the team. “The question before the board is whether to invest in a building that may close in the coming years, or to undertake a rapid and sweeping reconfiguration of our schools within five months. This is not a decision anyone should take lightly, and it is not one we envy. While the responsibilities to decide rests with the board, it is our obligation as administrators to speak plainly and with conviction.

“Closing Bristol Elementary School may produce some minimal long-term financial savings in both operations and staffing. However, these savings are speculative. There are numerous unknown expenses associated with a rapid reconfiguration of two school buildings. I’m really nervous, but these savings come at a far more substantial cost, one that will not appear on a balance sheet.

“We respectfully urge the school board to address the immediate structural and safety needs of Bristol Elementary School. At the same time, we recommend moving forward with our current plan: Send kindergarten through fourth grade students to Bristol Elementary School and New Hampton Community School and to reconfigure Newfound Memorial Middle School as a grade 5-8 school. This approach allows us to act responsibly, plan carefully, and most importantly, protect the educational experiences for all of our students.”

School board member Dennis Fitton, of Alexandria, said of the BES repairs, “Logically and economically, it’s a bandaid, but it’s a longer-term bandaid that’s not going to force us into making hasty decisions on consolidation before we’re fully prepared.” Waiting for solid plans from the architects, he said, will “guide us in making educated decisions, versus making decisions that we feel like we’re forced to make, and it will take all communities into consideration.”

The board ultimately approved using money in the building maintenance fund for both the “not-to-exceed” figure of $28,100 for immediate work, and as much as $324,975 for the additional work over the summer to allow Bristol Elementary to reopen in the fall.