Norwich building committee hopes to avoid referendum on increased school project cost

Norwich ― The School Building Committee has work to do to get answers by early September on whether a new referendum is needed to change the price of the school construction project.

The City Council on Monday referred two competing proposed referendum questions ― one to raise the price to meet new $435 million cost estimate and one to reduce the project to $342 million ― to the building committee. The committee must vote to forward a recommendation to the Board of Educaton and the City Council.

But on Tuesday, the building committee heard some encouraging updates to student enrollment projections and possible other changes to keep the entire project within the $385 million total approved by voters in 2022.

Chairman Mark Bettencourt said the committee will hire a demographics statistics expert to confirm enrollment projections that show the John Moriarty and Uncas schools, can be reduced from 600 students to about 541 students. Bettencourt said that would save significantly on construction costs.

Bigger savings are projected for the plan either to overhaul and expand the current Teachers’ Memorial Middle School or build a new middle school on that property. The inital projection put the renovation and expansion at $99 million.

No updated cost estimates are yet available, but Bettencourt said if enrollment estimates are lower, the expansion could be smaller. Bettencourt believes building a new middle school is preferable but would be more costly.

Bettencourt said cutting the final portion of the project, renovations to the Samuel Huntington School to house central offices and adult education, also could help to keep the project within the original referendum total. Instead of the planned $25 million renovation, it could be downsized.

“The school can be easily converted to adult ed, and it wouldn’t cost that much for offices,” Bettencourt said.

The School Building Committee likely will need a special meeting in August to review new information and provide a recommendation to the City Council.

The council is scheduled to hold public hearings on both potential referendum questions Aug. 19. If a new referendum is needed, the council must approve a ballot question by Sept. 3.

c.bessette@theday.com