MONROE, CT — Since the pandemic, enrollment at Monroe’s public schools has been on the rise after years of decline. Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kobza, principals and the Board of Education are struggling with space needs in their buildings, particularly at Fawn Hollow Elementary School.
Kobza said student enrollment at Monroe’s public schools started to decline in 2010, before rising by about 13 percent since 2020.
A Facilities Ad Hoc Committee with stakeholders from education, town officials and the public, is exploring options to solve the problems with the help of Silver Petrucelli & Associates, a firm hired to guide members through the process.
“We want a decision by June, so we can get state grants,” Board of Education Chairman David Ferris said of any building projects that will be needed, during a committee meeting on Dec. 12. “Everyone’s input is very important. I want to have one conversation. Sometimes I’ll reel us back in.”
Applications for state grants must be submitted by June and the wait for approvals goes into December of 2025, according to Ferris. Town approvals for a project would also be needed, so the earliest there could be a shovel in the ground for construction would be 2026, he said.
The Ad Hoc Committee is purely advisory, so its final report will be voted on by the Board of Education.
Kobza said the process began a year ago with the hiring of Silver Petrucelli & Associates, which performed an analysis of the town’s school facilities and an enrollment study.
“They met with building principals and walked around the buildings for space utilization to see: how are we using space? And are we using it efficiently?” he said.
The committee includes Kobza, Assistant Superintendent Sheila Casinelli and Ferris, who was elected committee chairman, as well as:
- Jen Parsell, director of Student Support Services
- Ron Bunovsky, director of finance
- Dan Kroffsik, director of facilities
- Jerry Stevens, Board of Education member, serving as secretary
- Christine Cascella, Board of Education member
- Leigh Ances – principal, Fawn Hollow
- Steve Swensen, principal, Masuk High School
- Sue Dixon, Monroe Education Association
- Ralph Franco, Monroe Education Association
- Jonathan Formichella, Town Council chair
- Rebecca O’Donnell, Board of Finance chair
- Steve Kirsch, Board of Finance member
- Mike Ganino, citizen
- Bill Holsworth, director of Economic Development
- Tim Piedmont, Parent Council co-president and
- Megan Damato, Parent Council co-president
Narrowing options
Michelle H. Miller, a project manager and architect with Silver Petrucelli & Associates, gave a brief summary of the condition of each of the district’s buildings, which includes three elementary schools (Monroe, Stepney and Fawn Hollow), Jockey Hollow Middle School and Masuk, as well as the town-owned Chalk Hill building, which was a former school.
Miller went over the millions of dollars worth of costs for upgrades and identified the most immediate needs.
She worked with Monroe Public Schools administrators to come up with a list of five scenarios for the town to resolve its space needs:
- Maintain existing buildings with additions as required to address enrollment and programatic needs.
- Chalk Hill: Bring back as a 5-6 school, limiting additions to other schools.
- Eliminate (sell) Monroe Elementary School: equalize two elementary schools, make Chalk Hill a 5-6, relocate the Board of Education offices.
- New Elementary School: A pre-K, K-6 model, eliminate Chalk Hill.
- Reconfigure grade structure: Use all six schools with a pre-k – kindergarten; a grades 1-2, a grades 3-4, a grades 5-6, a grades 7-8 and a 9-12.
Committee members agreed to eliminate option one, due to a consensus that the district should change the direction it’s going in. They also eliminated option five, because of the belief it requires too many staff moves and is not practical.
After the meeting, Kobza said he would make sure committee members had copies of a pros and cons list for each of the remaining scenarios.
Ferris noted how important it is to make the right decision, so everyone isn’t back to square five years later. While referring to a past mistake, he said Jockey Hollow should have been air-conditioned when it was built decades ago.
“The air ducts are there,” he said. “How much less expensive would it have been years ago? The state has HVAC grants now and we want to get one to pay for it.”
Holsworth asked if vacant land was looked at as another potential option. Miller said no, but they could gather information on that.
Ganino asked if the town could get more reimbursement from the state if it goes with a new, green building.
Miller said a renovation and addition could receive around 32 percent reimbursement, while a new building would receive about 10 percent less.
Damato said it could take up to five years to receive reimbursement from the state, so committee members’ expectations are not that it will be instant.
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