Officials Work to Avoid $40 Million in Extra School Building Costs

School Building Committee Chair Matthew Dominello reported Thursday night that the committee has been working to address issues with the Platt and Maloney high school renovations that could end up costing the city as much as $40 million more than originally expected.

The $210 million endeavor—the largest school construction project in Connecticut—exceeds current square-footage-per-pupil guidelines set by the state. As a result, the rate of state reimbursement is lower than anticipated, and the potential cost to the city higher.

The School Building Committee is attacking the problem on two fronts: 1) It is working with the state legislature to either change the reimbursement requirements or to get a waiver for the project, and 2) It is working with school officials and with the architects to reduce the size of the buildings.

Dominello reported that since the last committee meeting a month ago, “We have made two trips to Hartford to help garner support for our legislative efforts.”

The committee also approved a motion by Dominello to submit a letter asking the Board of Education to review the educational specifications for the two high schools “to determine if all requirements set forth are still valid” and to request that school officials look for ways to reduce square footage for the renovated buildings.

Committee member Patty Murphy questioned why the ed specs should need to be reviewed. Glen Lamontagne, who has spearheaded the renovation project, explained that there may be changes in educational programs at the high schools that could affect size requirements for the schools. For example, if specialized programs such as auto shop or medical careers were to be discontinued, those spaces could be eliminated.

Architects have already gotten rid of a meeting room associated with the library and space for darkrooms, Lamontagne said.

He added that the committee is asking the board to reexamine specs they approved in December 2010 to make sure they are still appropriate. “We have an opportunity now to build the schools the right size,” he said.

In the spirit of alleviating the financial constraints facing the city, Brian Cyr, musical director for Maloney High School, told the committee that he rescinded his previous recommendation to raise the roofs over the auditoriums of both schools to make room for a full-fly system. Such a state-of-the-art system would allow the stage curtains to be lifted completely out of view. That change to the design plans would have cost approximately $1.5 million per school, Cyr disclosed.

At the meeting, architects also updated the committee on design progress and current budget estimates for the dual renovations. Platt cost projections currently stand at just under $103 million, about $8.8 million less than the original budget for the project. Maloney costs of $106.4 million are about $1million under budget.