01-05-24 | That is one takeaway of a newly released New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) school building planning study. The study’s final report was unveiled and discussed at the latest Board of Education Finance and Operations committee meeting held via Zoom. 

Click here to view the full report and here for the report summary presented to the committee and district leaders at Tuesday’s meeting. 

The report focused on district enrollment and building utilization and conditions, and spatial needs.

“Although there is a surplus of seats districtwide, Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross HS are both over capacity,” the report stated. It concluded that NHPS buildings require new investment, with 10 current schools identified in ​“poor” condition requiring significant investment with an additional 31 facilities identified as ​“fair” and approaching ​“poor condition.” 

The study was conducted by local architecture firms Svigals + Partners and S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM). SLAM K12 Public Schools National Market Leader Kemp Morhardt and Svigals Managing Partner Jay Brotman joined Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb in presenting the report at Tuesday’s meeting. 

Brotman and Morhardt reported that the district has lost 3,100 pre-K-12 students since the 2016 – 17 school year. They projected an additional decrease of an estimated 1,740 students over the next ten years. 

This year NHPS has 18,877 pre-K-12 students. The report projects that district enrollment will decline to 17,140 students by 2031.

The report scored two of the 43 total existing school facilities as being in good condition. (The report includes the now closed West Rock STREAM Academy, Quinnipiac School, and Strong School on Orchard.)

Ten of the district’s current schools were scored poor, meaning they have immediate facility concerns and their ​“system is problematic, causes disruption to occupants and operators and is at the end of useful life” and ​“requires major capital investments to repair or replace building infrastructure.” 

Brotman and Morhardt agreed that most of the district’s newest schools are in OK condition but have major components that will soon reach their end of life. 

Schools Superintendent Madeline Negrón told committee members the study begins an extended process aimed at closing some schools and reinvesting in others. She promised to update the committee during a February meeting about next steps, which will include developing a comprehensive facilities plan with the help of community engagement.

“This work has to be done with community, not to community,” she said. 

Brotman said schools like Career High don’t have all of their inter-district seats filled, while other schools like Cross are overcrowded. Overall the report identified a ​“significant surplus of 3,300 seats at the elementary and K‑8/PK‑8 level.”

The report recommends that the district form a plan to consolidate its pre-K‑8 schools within the next three years. The report summary does not give specific suggestions for which schools to close.

That’s what comes next. 

Lamb emphasized that no matter which decisions are made regarding closings or relocations, ​“the capital need for the district is going to be significant.”

“The data that has been collected identifies specific objectives that will help the district align to its vision and goals. These will be the compass that is needed to position the district to areas of concentration as we move through the planning strategies,” Lamb said. The work will include forming a task force including NHPS staff, board members, and community members.

See the full New Haven Independent article here.