Stonington - The K-12 School Building Committee will hold a public "listening workshop" on Tuesday to get input from residents on the proposed project to upgrade the town's aging elementary schools.

The committee has hired the architectural firm of Drummey, Rosane, Anderson Inc. to come up with various options and cost estimates.

In announcing the workshop, the committee said the firm will use input from the community to shape the options and recommendations it will make to the building committee. The forum will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Stonington High School Commons and the committee also invited students to share their ideas.

The committee said the firm's architects and engineers are "in the process of assessing existing school sites and other possible locations, and will consider the broadest range of possible options to address the needs of Stonington's schools."

Sessions during the workshop will collect community ideas on the physical facilities and sites, contemporary early childhood education programming, trends including demographics and enrollments, and the issues and needs of students. Those unable to attend the workshop may send their comments to 12building@stonington-ct.gov.

Two other hearings are planned. On Dec. 15 various options and alternatives will be discussed and in January the specific recommendations will be discussed.

While the committee has made no decisions on what plan to recommend, the school board is supporting an option of closing the three elementary schools and the school administration building, constructing a new middle school and sending students in kindergarten through fifth grade to the existing two middle schools.

At a subcommittee meeting last month, building committee members discussed three potential sites for a new middle school, one behind the high school, another just east of the high school on Route 1, and the West Vine Street School property.

The building committee would like to have a referendum vote to approve bonding for the project in February. This would allow the town to prepare and submit an application for partial state reimbursement that ranges from 21 percent to 30 percent by the June deadline.

While there is no cost estimate yet for the project, school and town officials have informally discussed a price tag in the $40 million to $60 million range. The town could further offset that cost by selling or leasing the four sites that would close under the new middle school plan and saving money by maintaining fewer buildings.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas