Anna Reynolds Renovation Plans Placed on Hold
NEWINGTON - Newington Superintendent of Schools Bill Collins is pulling back a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) request for $14 million for renovations to Anna Reynolds Elementary School, where he had hoped to add spots to the district’s preschool program.

       Collins admitted a few months ago that he was not too optimistic about the project getting funded this year. A combination of additional costs for technical renovations for various Newington High School programs and anticipated needs on the town side has prompted the Board of Education to approve changes to its CIP budget request that included holding off on Anna Reynolds--for now.

       â€"It’s not a small renovation,” Collins said last week. â€"I think it’s going to be a bonding issue and I don’t think the community is ready for a bonding discussion right now.”

       That’s not to say that he’s giving up on the idea--he’s just looking for another way to get it done. Discussions are only in the earliest stages, but Collins has met with personnel from the state Department of Education and the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) about creating additional open choice seats within the district.

       At the 95 percent reimbursement rate--as opposed to the 58 percent paid back to districts for open choice--guaranteed for Sheff-related initiatives, Newington might be able to obtain the funding needed to renovate Anna Reynolds and expand its preschool program, Collins said.

       â€"I’m not disappointed about putting Anna Reynolds off,” he said. â€"I want to make sure I’ve exhausted all other avenues before I ask the community for money. We’ll try to get this done any way we can. There are other opportunities.”

       And he has looked to them before. Newington has not received any of the $10 million given out by the state over a 10 year period through an early childhood education bill aimed at putting 8,000 more children in preschool, amongst other objectives.

       The district’s preschool program currently has 42 students--24 in special education at Elizabeth Green and 18 typically developing students spread out between Anna Reynolds and John Paterson Elementary School. Collins figures that he can more than double the amount of seats the district offers for the latter group if they add classrooms at a couple of the schools.

       Collins has been looking at expanding the district’s early childhood education opportunities for a while now. He has considered everything from putting an addition on Elizabeth Green Elementary--the smallest grade school in the district--to renovating the unfinished basement at Ruth Chaffe. He has estimated that the latter would cost the district around $900,000. But he has decided to look to Anna Reynolds for a couple of reasons.

       While popular demand in Newington has prompted the need for more preschool seats, the proposed renovation of Anna Reynolds is for a dual purpose, the other half of it being the fact that the building-constructed in the 1950s-has deteriorated significantly, Collins said around the time his original CIP request was drafted.

       The bathrooms have â€"1950s tiling” and the building’s radiant floor heating system has caused problems, according to Collins.
MORE NEWINGTON NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Feb 04 2015  |  COMMENTS?