Politics & Government

Boards See Crystal Lake School Plans

Members of the Ellington Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, Board of Finance, and Permanent Building Committee saw the plans for the school renovation and expansion plan.

On Monday night, the Ellington Board of Selectmen, Board of Education, Board of Finance, and Permanent Building Committee got together to hear about the .

Hugh Pearson, an architect from Moser/Pilon/Nelson Architects, gave a presentation about the project that will add 18,350 square feet to – and renovate – the 29,600 square foot building.

The school is currently a K-4 school, but will be made a K-6 school. The classrooms will be improved, some spaces will be moved around within the building, and everything will be upgraded.

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Superintendent of Schools Stephen Cullinan said that two teachers – one for grade 5 and one for grade 6 – will need to be added.

With this project, will also have some alterations made. There will be no additions or site work – with the exception of perhaps a pre-kindergarten playground. The alterations will include changing classrooms around to better suit the grade that is in it, using current space more efficiently, and improving toilet and storage facilities.

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The town’s pre-kindergarten program will move from over to the school. Currently, Windermere School is a neighborhood K-4 school and the district grade 5 and 6 school.

By moving grade 5 and 6 into Center School, Cullinan said that some minor modifications may be made. These modifications may include bringing in a science lab table instead of regular desks, or getting larger desks for the larger grade 5 and 6 students.

Cullinan added that the pre-kindergarten rooms will work very well for the younger grades at the school.

According to Pearson, the whole project would cost approximately $18.1 million dollars and the Windermere School project would cost approximately $2.5 million, adding up to a total of $20.6 million. With an approximate 50 percent reimbursement from the state for the buildings – plus an additional reimbursement for the site acquisition – the projects would cost the town around $10.1 million dollars.

These figures also cover the furnishings, furniture, technology for the classrooms, and emergency generator for Crystal Lake School.

Cullinan said that if the town didn’t need the space, the board wouldn’t be asking for the addition, only a renovation.

“If we didn’t have the space issue, we would be saying, ‘Renovate Crystal Lake School,’” he said. “We wouldn’t be asking for that big change. This town desperately needs space for students. We’ve run out of space for students. What is the most cost effective manner to take care of the enrollment of this district over the next decade? It’s this particular plan.”

He continued, “What is the best way to organize the students? K-6 happens to work and it works very well. We can come up with a variation of plans, all more expensive than this, to try to take care of enrollment. It’s the most cost effective manner to take care of what the space needs are for students, and in what is a sound educational program. The K-6 model works very well for us.”


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