Norwich - The John M. Moriarty School could have a very different look at the start of the 2013-14 school year, as school officials and some parents pursue a plan to convert the city's second-largest elementary school into a magnet school.

Principal Rebecca Pellerin and three teachers at the school presented a preliminary plan to the Board of Education Tuesday and sought board support to research the plan further and to apply for federal grant money to launch the program at the start of the 2013-14 school year.

Pellerin said staff and parents and the Moriarty School Governance Council have embraced the initial concept with enthusiasm since the idea was first broached just two weeks ago.

One possible theme for the magnet school is health and environmental science, with potential ties to The William W. Backus Hospital and the University of Connecticut's agriculture Cooperative Extension System in Norwich. Pellerin said that theme also would help Moriarty students transition to the recently renovated Kelly Middle School, which has new science labs.

The school also neighbors the city's Raymond Ouellet Taftville Recreation Park and the Taftville Reservoir. Moriarty has 14 acres of its own, including former orchard land ideal for planting gardens. Pellerin said she hopes to install solar panels and possibly a wind turbine if the project goes forward.

Many questions remain, however. Pellerin said she does not yet know how much the school could apply for in federal grant money. She plans to explore other possible educational themes and visit other magnet schools.

School officials also would have to decide whether to make Moriarty an interdistrict magnet school, open to students from outside Norwich, or an intradistrict school.

Doreen Marvin, director of development at LEARN, the regional school consulting agency, has been working with Moriarty officials on the proposal. Marvin said the U.S. Department of Education has $112 million per year reserved for magnet schools and that becoming an interdistrict school with regional partnerships would enhance the school's chances of obtaining federal funds.

The board expressed support for the effort, though it did not take a vote. Board member Cora Lee Boulware, chairwoman of the board's building and space committee, said she was "very excited" about the prospect.

"It gives us a new look," Boulware said. "Of course, it's going to be hard work, but that's part of the process."

Board member Aaron Daniels, however, raised several logistical questions, including where students not interested in the magnet program would go, should Moriarty become a magnet school. The school currently has 432 students.

Daniels also pointed out that Norwich parents strongly support neighborhood schools. He said proponents of the magnet school plan would need broad support from Moriarty parents - he estimated needing 300 or more parents in favor - to avoid controversy over losing a neighborhood school setting for some students.

c.bessette@theday.com