North Stonington — After two attempts to renovate North Stonington’s schools failed at the polls, the Ad Hoc School Building Committee is preparing a third proposal it hopes will address the needs of the school while keeping the cost palatable to taxpayers.

At a working meeting on Monday, Nov. 9, committee members reviewed the latest in a series of proposed options to renovate the buildings.

The new proposal would include an L-shaped addition on the south side of Route 2 at Wheeler Middle High School attached to the gymnatorium, creating a contiguous school campus and end the regular use of the underground tunnel between the two campuses by students, which has been a safety concern.

The middle school classrooms and kitchen/cafe on the north side would be demolished.

At the elementary school, there would be a central kitchen that would prepare food for both buildings, according to the proposal, and more rooms to accommodate functions that currently take place in the gym, which would be renovated.

The committee also is leaning toward moving the sixth-grade students back to the elementary school.

Mike Urgo, chairman of the ad hoc committee, said that the panel considered many options before arriving at the current proposal, and noted that renovating the schools as new allowed the committee to save money.

“It keeps the cost down for us,” Urgo said. “We’re not breaking down a lot of walls. We’re really trying to work within the footprint we have. The central kitchen is another example of us trying to be creative with our space and sensitive to the taxpayer.”

In May of 2014, the initial proposal to renovate the schools came with a $47 million price tag that was soundly defeated, 694-457, at referendum.

After that defeat, organizers swiftly lowered the cost to $40.52 million and brought the renovation to referendum in June.

However, higher turnout and a narrower margin failed to change the outcome, as residents voted 853-698 to oppose the project.

The numbers are lower this time around.

The total renovation is projected to cost $38.92 million, the cost to the town down to $21.81 million, with the state’s reimbursement rate up from 41 percent just a year ago to 46 percent.

One of the remaining wild cards in the project is the hazardous material abatement money, for which the committee has set aside funds pending a more detailed analysis of the paint and caulking around windows.

The School Ad Hoc Committee is scheduled to present its proposal to the tri-board at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.

n.lynch@theday.com