Stonington appoints members to West Broad Street School Committee
Editor's note: This is a corrected version of this article.
Stonington — The town has appointed nine people to a committee to study the condition of the 115-year-old West Broad Street building and make recommendations about its future.
The members include residents with experience on the K-12 School Building Committee. A high school student, Connor Beverly, who is a Pawcatuck history buff, has been appointed as an intern to the committee.
With voter approval of the $69 million renovation and expansion of Deans Mill and West Vine Street schools, the town now has to decide what to do with the school, which is slated to close when the project is completed for the start of the 2019-20 school year.
Other members of the committee are former or current building committee members Paul Sartor, John Bolduc and Bill Sternberg.
Also named were Pawcatuck Fire Chief Kevin Burns, Charter Commission member Ashley Gillece, Highway Department employee Danny Oliverio, Board of Education member Alisa Morrison, Selectman Mike Spellman and residents Lance Hamilton and Thomas Matthews. A Board of Finance member will also be appointed.
When the elementary school renovation project was first discussed 20 years ago, there was strong opposition to closing West Broad Street School among some parts of the Pawcatuck community as generations of families have attended the stately brick structure.
That opposition has waned over the years as more and more residents became aware of the many structural and educational deficiencies of the school. Problems with the sprinkler system and collapsed ceilings have closed stairwells and classrooms and forced the town to spend money on emergency repairs. The six flights of stairs are not handicapped accessible and there is no elevator.
A study done by the K-12 School Building Committee earlier this year found that the school, which has a market value of between $250,000 and $500,000, has the best potential for conversion into 25 condominiums or apartments. The building and property are appraised by the town at $4 million.
A variance could also allow the building to be converted into medical offices. St. Michael Church has also expressed interest in the building for its school. Other options could be a Town Hall annex and space for school administration offices.
j.wojtas@theday.com
Twitter: @joewojtas
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