Groton — The state Department of Administrative Services has agreed to help Groton with the process of seeking additional school construction money, Groton Superintendent Michael Graner said Friday. 

The legislature would then approve or reject the request by May, so Groton taxpayers would know before they vote on the school construction referendum in November how much the proposal would cost, Graner said.

State Reps. John Scott and Aundre Bumgardner, both Groton Republicans, met with Graner, officials from the administrative services department, other state and local officials and an aide for State Sen. Andrew Maynard on Jan. 27.

Groton had planned to ask for 80 percent reimbursement from the state for its proposed three new schools – one middle school and two elementary schools — to go forward with a state-approved plan to correct racial imbalance.

The total cost is estimated at $191.7 million, some of which would be covered by the state depending on how much lawmakers approve.

Administrative services officials said they'd prefer that Groton ask for a dollar amount rather than a percentage of total construction costs, Graner said. 

The department would write the request after Groton submits the number, he said.

Scott, who arranged the Jan. 27 meeting, said Groton's request would be added to the statewide bonding package put together every year for school construction.

Lawmakers would likely take up the package during the last two weeks of the legislative session, he said. 

The goal is to give Groton a tool to help pay for the new schools, Scott said.

"If it's the will of the (town) council, (Representative Town Meeting) and ultimately, the taxpayer that they want to go forward, then that tool will be available to pay for a significant portion of the school construction costs," he said.

But lawmakers could also reject the plan, he said.

Although bonding is separate from the state budget, bonds must still be paid back, "so it's to be determined whether the legislature will have a stomach for doing something like this," Scott said.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy presented a $19.8 billion budget proposal to state lawmakers on Wednesday and said he might have to cut at least 1,000 state employee positions.

Graner said it's a difficult time to ask for money, but the state supports other districts, and Groton has a compelling case.

The state cited Groton in 2014 for a racial imbalance at Claude Chester Elementary School, which had a minority population of 68.2 percent at the time.

A school is considered out of balance if the percentage of minority students deviates by 25 percentage points from the district average.

In January 2015, the State Board of Education accepted Groton's plan to correct the imbalance by building one new middle school and two new elementary schools at the sites of Carl C. Cutler and West Side middle schools.

Three of the district's oldest elementary schools would close.

"We're looking for a one-time support for construction to solve this problem," Graner said. "We're not looking for multi years of support for magnet schools."

Mayor Bruce Flax said he supports the school construction proposal, called the Groton 2020 Plan, but believes cost will determine whether it passes or fails.

Flax suggested holding a parallel referendum to refurbish existing schools or pursue a different building plan in case voters reject the Groton 2020 Plan.

"We need to do something, because if you keep kicking the can down the street, it gets more expensive," he said.

The School Facilities Initiative Task Force meets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Town Hall Annex and will determine in the coming weeks how much to ask the state for. The town will then forward that number to the state administrative services.

The Town Council is also expected to vote in the coming weeks on whether to place the school construction referendum on the ballot in November.

The school building plan is the latest of multiple efforts to address racial balance and aging schools in Groton. 

Less than a year before the state cited the district for the imbalance at Claude Chester Elementary School, Groton moved 16 percent of its elementary school students to deal with a racial imbalance at Catherine Kolnaski Magnet School.

Both middle schools, S.B. Butler Elementary School and Northeast Academy have also been flagged in recent years for "pending imbalances," defined as a minority population of greater or less than 15 percentage points of the district average.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim