North Stonington - To help ensure that Wheeler High School does not lose its accreditation, the Board of Education agreed Wednesday that the Board of Selectmen should form an ad hoc school building committee.

The school was put on warning earlier this summer by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges that it could lose its accreditation, largely due to insufficient or inadequate spaces and facilities.

A new ordinance would go to a town meeting to form a committee that would shepherd a school building project through its planning process. The board's Permanent School Building Committee oversees smaller projects.

”As of next March, we may lose our accreditation,” school board member John Keane said. “There's an urgency involved in this.”

NEASC put Wheeler on warning for a long list of “concerns,” including outdated science labs, lack of conference space, inadequate gymnasium space and outdated kitchen equipment.

The building committee would likely be responsible for evaluating initial plans and cost estimates and then helping choose and implement one, said attorney Douglas Gillette of Day Pitney, who attended the meeting to answer questions about how the state's school building project reimbursement works.

Potential members would have diverse backgrounds - they included an interior designer, a Permanent School Building Committee member, a scientist and an engineer. The town's Board of Finance also committed to have one member sit on the committee.

The school system started to address its space issues in 2006, when it commissioned a study of the school's facilities. The firm Kaestle Boos presented four building options ranging then from $34.3 million to $54.7 million. The Board of Education earlier this year recommended the cheapest option, which called for renovating and expanding portions of all school buildings.

A new committee could use the options and data as a starting point but would not have to make the same recommendation.

”What I want is this school building committee to move forward, to get approved, to get appointed so they can start doing their job quickly and make the recommendations necessary back to the town as to what kind of school, renovation or construction, is necessary,” Selectman Bill Ricker said.

K.GOLDENBERG@THEDAY.COM

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