FAQs

Our schools were built for a different era, and the demands on school buildings have changed dramatically—especially around learning environments, safety, technology, and health.

During the 2023–2024 school year, East Windsor Public Schools partnered with Town leadership to pursue Connecticut state HVAC grant funding in the wake of COVID. This effort came soon after the district had to close schools multiple days in the early fall because classroom temperatures reached 90-plus degrees.

As part of the grant process, the district was required to complete a feasibility study. Midway through that study, the construction consulting group paused the work and advised that East Windsor would not qualify for the HVAC grants due to significant building envelope deficiencies across all three schools—including problems with walls, windows, floors, and ceilings.

Their professional guidance was clear: These conditions require immediate attention, and continuing to rely on temporary, “Band-Aid” repairs is no longer a viable long-term approach for facilities that are 60–70 years old. In fact, they warned that short-term fixes would only grow more expensive over time while leaving the underlying issues unresolved.

This information was shared publicly in February 2024, along with a message to the community that it was time to seriously explore new and/or renovated school facilities. Planning now helps the district be proactive rather than reactive—addressing urgent needs responsibly, using long-term financial planning, and ensuring our schools can serve students and the community well for the next 60-plus years.

Most district buildings are 60-70 years old. While they have been maintained through the years, each was constructed before:

• Modern safety codes

• Energy efficiency standards

• Accessibility requirements

• Current educational practices

As buildings age, maintenance costs increase, systems become less reliable, and learning spaces become harder to adapt. Investing now prevents higher costs later and ensures facilities meet today’s education expectations.

In our attempt to secure funding for a new HVAC system, we learned from building professionals that our facilities had many deficiencies, including old roofs, ceilings, walls, windows, doors, and other systems that were far past their useful life expectancy.

These needs could not all be addressed during potential HVAC upgrades. Based on advice from professional construction consultants, Town and school leaders determined that a broader approach is needed to address all deficiencies.

The Board of Education, in partnership with Town leadership, began to reevaluate its approach to addressing the future educational needs of our children. Therefore, in accordance with the goals outlined in our strategic plan, we initiated a study of our school facilities.

Since then, we have polled parents, solicited feedback from our administrative team, created an Ad Hoc School Facilities Committee, and, in collaboration with a few community members, toured neighboring school districts to learn how these communities addressed their school facility issues.  

Architectural firm selection: GWWO, in collaboration with Northeast Collaborative Architects, has been retained to provide conceptual design, cost estimating, and grant application preparation.

After six months of research, including visiting six surrounding towns and touring their facilities, and in talking with architects, engineers, and building experts, the following options are being considered for EWPS:

• Renovate-to-new at Broad Brook Elementary School 

• Construction of a new combined campus for middle and high school students at the existing EWHS campus.

Based on the completed feasibility study and conceptual design work, school construction experts and architects determined that the existing facilities have extensive building-envelope and infrastructure issues, making renovation more complex and, ultimately, more expensive than new construction. Because the team can document the need and support it with evidence from the feasibility study and conceptual plans, the project also qualifies for the higher state reimbursement rate associated with a “renovate-to-new” level of scope, comparable to the reimbursement rate for new construction.Item description

A combined middle and high school campus would function as two distinct schools under one roof, with the middle school and high school on opposite sides of the building and restricted student access between them.

The design supports a clear separation for safety, supervision, and age-appropriate learning environments, while still allowing for strategic shared use of select facilities.

Operationally, each school would maintain its own transportation, including separate arrival and dismissal schedules tailored to each grade. Importantly, there would be no transportation savings created by combining bus routes or bus runs. Our transportation contract is priced per bus—not per bus run—meaning reducing or combining runs does not change costs in a way that would generate savings.

The campus would include a central shared core positioned between the two schools. This shared area would include a media center, auditorium, and band and chorus rooms, allowing both schools to access high-quality specialized spaces without compromising separation.

The music program, in particular, benefits from this model: our band is inclusive, and shared music facilities create natural opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and program growth across grade levels.

Food service would be centralized and efficient through a single kitchen serving two separate cafeterias—one dedicated to the middle school and one to the high school—ensuring smooth operations while keeping student populations appropriately separated. In addition, each school would have its own gymnasium, preserving scheduling flexibility for physical education and athletics while expanding overall site capacity.

The layout also strengthens building security and community use. A central public entrance could provide direct access to the auditorium and media center for events, while each school wing remains secured, limiting visitor access to student areas. This enables after-hours and public programming without disrupting school operations or compromising safety.

From a community perspective, consolidating facilities on one site increases value and usability. With two gymnasiums in one location, plus centralized event spaces, the campus becomes a stronger hub for community programming, youth activities, tournaments, performances, and large events, creating a more attractive, efficient, and accessible set of facilities located in one area.

At a public forum held in April 2025, attendees reviewed and discussed the rationale for a combined middle and high school campus design, including the educational and operational reasons for maintaining 5th grade at the middle school.

Key reasons include:

• Maintaining academic programming and access to specials and electives: Moving 5th grade would reduce daily electives and specials from two to one.

• Protecting student engagement and leadership opportunities: A move would eliminate 5th grade participation in after-school activities (currently 11 options offered twice per week) and remove 5th graders from middle school student council, activities, and field trips.

• Preserving access to middle school athletics: Moving 5th grade would eliminate participation in MS sports currently available to 5th graders (including cross country, basketball, track, and softball).

• Supporting continuity of services and enrichment: Moving 5th grade creates potential disruption to TAG services, including the possibility of starting at 6th grade instead of 5th grade or splitting staff between buildings.

• Avoiding over-expanding the elementary school and associated capacity issues: Moving 5th grade would increase the elementary building to about 600 students (including FRC), requiring expansion planning for the Discovery program (currently at maximum enrollment), and could increase lunch waves or require cafeteria expansion.

• Reducing additional staffing and scheduling strain: A move would require additional staffing (social worker, PE, world language, band, behavioral support, and other specials) and increase scheduling complexity across buildings.

• Limiting added costs and protect reimbursement eligibility: Moving 5th grade could increase transportation costs (more buses for the elementary run) and reduce eligible square footage for state reimbursement tied to the middle and high school facilities.

• Supporting school culture and staff stability: District perceptions indicated a strong preference to keep 5th grade at the middle school, noting it has functioned as part of that school for more than 20 years, and that morale concerns are tied to the important academic growth that typically occurs in 5th grade.

East Windsor Middle School would provide necessary swing space while construction is underway.

Plans for what would happen to the campus afterward have not been finalized.

The Board of Education has indicated that the combined middle and high school project is the higher priority. The current secondary facilities have the greatest infrastructure needs and the professional analysis shows that it is more cost-effective to build new than to renovate.

Several factors drive this priority:

• Immediate and significant facility needs at the high school: For example, the high school roof is a major concern as the current estimate to replace the roof alone is more than $7 million.

• Reimbursement and size constraints: Because the high school is considered oversized, the district cannot access the typical reimbursement structure without special legislation to waive the overage.

• Long-term obligations once state funding is accepted: When the Town accepts bonding and state reimbursement, the district is responsible for maintaining those facilities for the next 20 years, limiting the ability to renovate or rebuild again during that window without additional special legislation.

• Minimizing student disruption: Prioritizing the secondary school project helps reduce the likelihood of multiple student relocations. If the elementary project occurred first, some students could be relocated twice as they move through grade levels and the secondary work begins later.

• Elementary project complexity: The proposed elementary project is generally less complex (renovate-to-new scope) compared to the scale and urgency of the secondary needs.

In addition, a recent Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) Civil Rights/Facilities review of East Windsor High School documented multiple accessibility barriers, including findings that the biology program workstations are not accessible, the auditorium lacks an assisted listening system and accessible/companion seating, the physical education program areas (including locker room showers) are not usable for individuals with disabilities, and the route from the parking lot to the building lacks curb ramps

The Board of Selectmen has previously communicated that the Town’s estimated bonding capacity is approximately $40 million. Within that capacity, the Board of Selectmen has indicated it is willing to recommend up to $30 million in local (taxpayer) funding to the Board of Finance to support the school construction projects.

The primary funding source is state school construction reimbursement. The combined project cost (before any reimbursement) is estimated at approximately $145 million, and East Windsor’s current reimbursement rate is 62.31%.

Connecticut reimbursement rates are calculated annually using a statutory formula administered by the state, and the applicable rate affects the grant amount as a percentage of eligible project costs.

Because the Town’s local funding capacity is limited by its bonding capacity and the level of local funding available through that capacity, the district and town leadership have been working with local legislators to advocate for a higher state reimbursement rate of 80%.

Achieving an 80% reimbursement would significantly improve feasibility by reducing the local share to approximately 20% of total eligible costs.

For timing, the Connecticut General Assembly’s 2026 regular session convened on February 4, 2026 and adjourns on May 6, 2026, which is the window when any reimbursement rate changes would typically need to be acted on. Consistent with that schedule, we expect to know the outcome by early May 2026, depending on legislative action and final approvals.

The future of the middle school building will be addressed through the formal project planning process in coordination with the Town.

If the projects are approved, the middle school building would remain in active use as “swing space” to house students during construction and transitions until both school construction projects are completed, which is anticipated to be approximately 4–5 years, depending on final design, phasing, and construction timeline.

Once the new schools are complete and students have transitioned out of the existing middle school, the building would return to the Town, and the Town would determine next steps and options for potential repurposing or other disposition through its own public process.

East Windsor completed a 10-year demographic enrollment study through SLAM, which indicates modest growth in student enrollment over the next decade.

These projections were used to help determine the appropriate building size and program capacity aligned to the district’s instructional needs.

Technology is no longer an add-on—it is embedded in how students learn, collaborate, and prepare for college and careers. Modern schools are designed to support:

• Interactive learning spaces

• Reliable, high-speed connectivity

• Flexible classrooms for hands-on and project-based learning

• Career and technical education pathways

Older buildings were not designed to support today’s electrical, networking, or instructional needs, making upgrades more costly and less effective over time.

Student health and safety are top priorities. New or renovated schools allow the district to incorporate:

• Improved air quality and modern ventilation systems

• Safer building layouts with secure entry points

• Updated fire, security, and communication systems

• Spaces designed to support student wellness, counseling, and accessibility

These features are difficult and expensive to fully integrate into aging structures.

Yes, our schools are safe today. At the same time, safety standards continue to evolve. New construction and renovations would allow the district to add:

• Enhanced secure entrances

• Improved visibility and building layouts

• Modern safety technology

• Better emergency response infrastructure

This work builds on current safety practices and strengthens them for the future.

Strong schools strengthen the entire community by:

• Protecting property values

• Attracting families and businesses

• Creating community spaces for events and activities

• Supporting workforce development

• Using energy-efficient buildings that reduce long-term operating costs

Schools are one of the community’s most valuable shared assets.

Community input is essential and we encourage residents to:

• Attend public meetings and forums

• Ask questions and share feedback

• Review plans and project updates

• Participate in advisory or planning committees

• Stay informed through district communications and by accessing the website.

This is a potential community investment, and the district is committed to transparency and collaboration every step of the way.