Groton - The long-planned marine science magnet high school would need few design changes to fit on the new site LEARN is eyeing - the former Eastern Point Elementary School - officials said.

Residents can weigh in on using the town-owned site for the proposed school at a public hearing Tuesday.

The school, estimated to cost $27 million, was last planned for the Spicer property off Thomas Road, an area many had considered ideal because of its proximity to a freshwater lake and a saltwater estuary.

The state nixed the Spicer property for the school because it lies in a 500-year flood plain. That site joined a list of rejected sites, including Mago Point in Waterford, Baker Cove in the City of Groton and Riverside Park in New London.

Doreen Marvin, LEARN's development director, said the agency would still like to buy the Spicer property to use as an outdoor learning environment, since Eastern Point, which is in the center of the city, doesn't have water access. As with the Spicer site, LEARN would work with Project Oceanology to gain boating access to the ocean.

Under the new proposal, LEARN would take the century-old Eastern Point school, which closed last year, off the town's hands.

The town has said it has no use for the school, and costs for demolition - which would become LEARN's responsibility - have been estimated at $1 million.

No contract has been negotiated yet, but the town has talked about informally leasing the land to LEARN for a nominal fee.

LEARN officials believe the new school, designed by JCJ Architecture, would have a minimal impact on the surrounding community.

While Eastern Point hosted around 440 students in the years before it closed, LEARN's marine science school would have 250 students.

It would be around 58,000 square feet, without the auditorium and gymnasium that high schools traditionally have. Instead, it would have large labs for the various marine sciences.

There would be fewer school buses because LEARN uses regional transportation hubs to pick students up and drop them off, Marvin said. And the small size of the school would mean less parking needed for staff and student drivers.

The school does not need playing fields because there is no traditional physical education - alternatives include sailing or scuba diving - and athletics would be played at students' home schools.

"This is an opportunity for the use of the property to continue in the same vein of the previous use," said Marvin, adding that it will be an improvement over an old, unused building.

The curriculum is focused on aquaculture, marine sciences and marine technology. Students would be immersed in their learning environment on an alternating cycle - dry days spent in the classroom and wet days out in the field.

In addition to academics, students would learn skills such how to design, build and prepare boats and the mechanics of propulsion. They also would study ocean habitats, navigation and even how to and what shellfish require to manage a seafood business.

Students would also learn about commerical shellfish production, using the shellfish beds LEARN purchased from the Spicer family at the bottom of Pine Island Bay.

The concept of the school goes back to the 1970s, when the state Board of Education authorized the development of four regional marine high schools in the state.

Two of those schools were built - New Haven's Sound School in 1980 and Bridgeport's Aquaculture School in 1993. In 1998, school districts in southeastern Connecticut teamed up with LEARN to submit a proposal here.

While the existing schools are vocational schools run by the local school districts, LEARN's school is designed to prepare students for college and would be run by a governing board.

Admission would be by lottery for any student in the LEARN region, but the linchpin school districts - Waterford, New London, Stonington and Ledyard - will be guaranteed a certain number of seats. Groton has also been invited to join.

The public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Annex.

K.WARCHUT@THEDAY.COM