By Jarret Liotta
The Westport Board of Education gave a clear message to the town Monday night that Coleytown Middle School (CMS) will remain just that, barring exceptional cost estimates.
The Board of Education discusses the now closed Coleytown Middle School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
And even if numbers for its renovation and rejuvenation come back extremely high, members said that the town—in particular its funding bodies—will need to tell it so before it looks seriously at making Bedford Middle School (BMS) the town’s only middle school.
“If we get Coleytown Middle School back, we’re going to use it as a middle school. Period,” said BOE member Candice Savin.
Investigations into—and conversations about—new possible educational uses for CMS, including making it a sixth grade academy, have prompted speculation about exactly what the BOE wants it to be yet.
“Every time that we discuss those scenarios there definitely an angst we’re creating in the community,” BOE member Vik Muktavaram noted.
Once again a representative from Milone & MacBroom, Patrick Gallagher, came to share more details on possible building uses and redistricting scenarios aimed at balancing numbers at the elementary level and keeping the four-teacher team models in place at the middle schools.
Last week, following news that CMS might not be open for students in the fall of 2020, the Board of Finance told BOE Chairman Mark Mathias that it wanted to hear a more definitive word from his board on exactly what it wants from an educational standpoint.
“Do we have enough information to render an opinion?” Mathias asked his board Monday night.
“Based on the community’s input, we want to be an eight-school-building school district,” said Muktavaram, who remains suspicious of Milone & MacBroom’s enrollment projections, as well as whether the criteria for options are being incorporated in the best way.
“I think it’s already answered,” he said of the BOF’s question. “I don’t know why that question comes up at all.”
“Yeah, we’ve answered the question,” BOE member Candice Savin said.
“We’ve already decided … We’re using it as a middle school,” BOE member Elaine Whitney said.
She noted that the discussion of possibly changing the middle school model, or possibly creating new configurations, have been happening for some time, even before the CMS crisis began last fall.
“This has been ongoing and it’s been several years that we’ve been talking as a board about the imbalance,” she said, at the elementary level.
“We still have time … It doesn’t have to tie to the physical facility piece,” she said of any decision to reconfigure. “It doesn’t have to tie to the capital decision by July 16.”
“In our opinion the sixth grade academy … best aligns with the criteria you have set forth,” Gallagher said, noting it causes least disruption and general equity.
Others shared his opinion, including BOE Vice Chair Jeannie Smith, who called it the most “attractive” option because it promotes equity and would make the “unraveling” of next year’s combined BMS much easier.
“What is the right thing from an educational standpoint?” BOE member Neil Phillips said. “That is a primary driver … and also what does the community (want) to get behind and support?”
Whatever the answer, he and others agreed they did not want to be rushed by what may be an arbitrary deadline for funding, especially if an August 2020, reopening of CMS is not a viable option.
