As the chairman of the Essex Board of Education and an officer at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, I sometimes head up to the Connecticut state house to comment on legislation.
Yesterday I testified in favor of a bill to provide a greater percentage of construction reimbursement for districts that build in-district or inter-district facilities for specialized programming.
These efforts will save taxpayers money by reducing out of district placements and result in better outcomes for kids. While this proposed language is an important step forward, many school districts with existing facilities in need of renovation or repurposing are not eligible for these bonuses—or even the base grant—due to current space standard regulations.
The regulations are designed to ensure that newly constructed facilities are appropriately sized for the projected number of students and staff. While this approach is logical for new construction projects, it also applies to renovations of existing facilities that often predate these rules and were built when cyclical population trends resulted in a larger student body.
Waivers are potentially available, but projects must first be approved by the communities through a referendum before those discussions and commitments can even take place. Reducing this uncertainty by doing a review up-front would greatly help in facilitating more interdistrict partnerships and likely lead to more cost effective renovations versus tear-downs and new construction.