Pomperaug and Gainfield Elementary Schools. While construction would take place at these sites, the project has been designed with a district-wide perspective. The new schools would help alleviate capacity needs across Region 15, allowing the district to better balance enrollment and provide appropriate learning space for students in both communities.

The district has identified aging infrastructure and facility limitations that impact operations, safety, and accessibility.

After studying both options, the district determined that new construction is the more effective long-term solution for Pomperaug and Gainfield Elementary Schools. Both buildings are among the oldest in the district and would require extensive upgrades to systems, safety features, accessibility, and classroom spaces. Renovating them would be costly, disruptive to students during construction, and still limited by the original building layouts. Building new schools allows the district to create modern learning spaces, improve safety and efficiency, address capacity needs, and qualify for significant state reimbursement. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/04630c_b95e335247ec4ed4960e3b002a444a5b~mv2.jpg https://static.wixstatic.com/media/04630c_c99233bb9caa4869a5075e2bf6cd71e5~mv2.jpg

The referendum asks voters to approve the construction of two new PK–5 elementary schools to replace Gainfield Elementary School (built in 1941) and Pomperaug Elementary School (built in 1967), the district’s two oldest facilities. The combined total project cost is estimated at $206 million, with approximately $78 million as the estimated net local cost after state reimbursement of roughly 62.5%.

While early estimates showed renovation at approximately $80 million compared to about $86 million for new construction, renovation brings several significant additional costs and challenges that are not always reflected in the base estimate. Financial Factors: • Renovating an occupied school would require temporary “swing space” and phased construction, estimated at about $12 million, so students can safely continue learning while parts of the building are under construction. • Renovation would also likely take four or more years, which increases inflation and construction escalation costs. Disruption: Renovation would mean years of disruption for students and staff as construction occurs around active classrooms. Structural Limitations: Renovation would also retain many structural limitations of the existing buildings, such as long corridors, lower ceiling heights, and layouts that make it difficult to fully modernize learning spaces. Building new allows the district to address infrastructure, safety, traffic flow, and modern learning space design in one comprehensive project, while avoiding many of the additional costs, delays, and limitations associated with renovating aging buildings.

If the project is deferred, the district will need to continue investing in aging facilities, which will ultimately cost the community more over time. These repairs address short-term needs but will place increasing pressure on the annual school budget and may limit funding for other priorities. Moving forward now addresses pressing facility needs at PES and GES while maximizing available state reimbursement and will allow the district to focus future resources on other programs and improvements.