The General Assembly on Monday unanimously approved the annual school construction bonding package, which was amended to authorize more than $98 million for the New London High School construction project.

The roughly $98 million project, which, along with construction of a new middle school, will complete the facilities portion of the city’s plan to become the state’s first all-magnet school district, was not among the school building projects recommended by the state Department of Administrative Services to the General Assembly for funding when the legislative session began because it was not approved at the local level until it passed referendum in November.

“When I learned that our school project was facing possible ineligibility to proceed with the construction plans, I made a commitment to my city to do everything I could to get us back on the priority list,” Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, said in a statement. “I am extremely pleased that I was able to deliver on that commitment and our school project is back on the agenda.”

In November, Hewett secured a commitment from DAS to support the New London project’s inclusion in the final version of the bill. The project was added by inserting “notwithstanding language” as an amendment to the bill, Hewett said.

"This action certainly has cleared the way for the entire magnet school pathway project to move forward on schedule," Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said. "I am extremely pleased the legislature took this action, I thank our legislative delegation for their support. ... We have the green light and now it is incumbent upon us to finish task we started."

To be included on the DAS priority list, a municipality must have approved the project by June 30, 2014, a DAS spokesman said.

Even though the City Council approved the project and the associated bonding ordinance before that date, it was petitioned to referendum, and the state considered local approval to be incomplete until the referendum question passed on Nov. 4.

On Election Day, voters overwhelmingly affirmed the City Council’s approval of up to $168 million in bonding to complete the facilities portion of the transformation into the state’s first all-magnet school district.

The bond ordinance passed with roughly 65 percent support, allowing the city to set in motion its plan to renovate New London High School and Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, and construct a building to house a science, technology, engineering and math middle school at the high school campus.

The referendum had no effect on the state’s pledge to reimburse the city for 80 percent of the total project cost and the city ultimately will be responsible to pay about $31 million of the total cost.

“As the beneficiary of an excellent magnet school education, I know that meaningful investments in our educational infrastructure yield results both in and outside of the classroom," Rep. Aundré Bumgardner (R-Groton) said in a statement. "Making the high school ADA-compliant, among other things, will allow teachers and administrators to worry less about a furnace failing, and more about teaching and learning.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung