New London — The City Council has given a preliminary nod of approval for the school district to move forward with planning for construction of a new administrative office building.

A 6-1 vote on Monday came after the council received reassurances that the costs for the new building, up to $5.5 million, would not interfere with the $49.5 million reconstruction of Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, not cost taxpayers additional money or impact school programming.

Still, the council stopped short of authorizing construction costs or the estimated $557,000 needed for an architect to design the new building. Instead, the council amended language in a 2014 ordinance for the middle school project to include demolition and construction of an admin building, sometimes referred to as Central Office.

Voters at a referendum in 2014 approved a total of $55 million for the reconstruction of the middle school as part of the district’s conversion into an all-magnet school district. The cost for construction of the school, as approved by the state, was subsequently set at $49.5 million, with the remaining money left for contingencies.

With design of the school now set and nearly ready to go to bid, the district wants to use the contingency money to demolish and rebuild Central Office, which is home to various administrative offices and the information technology department.

The project manager, Colliers, is looking to complete the projects together.

The move makes sense to many, since the building is outdated and physically connected to the middle school. Councilor Alma Nartatez on Monday said professionals have evaluated the building and “say demolishing it is the right way to go. Those are facts. It’s the right thing to do.”

Councilor James Burke said further debate on the issue will only serve to delay the entire project.

“I think it would be detrimental, especially six years in the making, to enter into this construction project with what could be seen as a liability for building maintenance costs that would then eat up resources which could be spent taking care of our new school facilities once they are built," he said.

Burke said Monday’s vote allows the designers the ability to figure out whether the project can be done within the approved $55 million budget.

Councilor John Satti, chairman of the School Building and Maintenance Committee, which oversees planning for the two new schools, took a hard stance against the move. He warned of “serious legal ramifications if in fact we co-mingle these projects.”

Satti also argued that alteration of the ordinance, which he voted against, could lead to a legal challenge and require another referendum. “If in fact that happens, I believe that this will delay the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School project,” he said.

The state is reimbursing the city 80% of the majority of costs for the middle school and high school construction projects. The reimbursement rate for a new Central Office remains an unknown, though they are typically funded at 40%.

Voters in 2014 approved bonding a total of $165 million for two school construction projects: $55 million at the middle school campus and $110 million at the high school. Both included contingency money. The high school project, once estimated to be $98 million, has risen to $108 million because of complications that arose from the loss of a planned downtown campus for the arts magnet program.

g.smith@theday.com