New Britain is undertaking a two-year overhaul of Smith Elementary School, a project estimated to cost as much as $145 million. The work at the Rutherford Street campus includes a full renovation and a new 22-classroom center for Pre-K students, adding to the district’s effort to update its elementary schools.
Officials from the city, school district, state, and federal government gathered at the Rutherford Street campus for the September 23 groundbreaking, according to the New Britain Herald. The event drew U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Michelle Halloran Gilman, and School Building Committee Chair Angelo D'Alfonso, as reported by the New Britain Progressive. The gathering underscored what district leaders describe as a long-term effort to modernize New Britain's public schools.
Superintendent Tony Gasper said the project is intended to give future generations of students more suitable learning spaces, according to the Herald. Plans include updated classrooms and technology, energy-efficient systems, improved security and access controls, five playground and recreation areas, and revised traffic patterns for buses, families and students.
A Dedicated Wing for New Britain's Youngest Students
The new Pre-K Early Learning Center will have a separate main entrance, dedicated offices and a multipurpose room, according to the Herald. Its 22 classrooms are intended to expand early childhood education opportunities for New Britain families. The center was first planned for Chamberlain Elementary School before municipal officials deferred and moved it to Smith, the Progressive reported.
Mayor Bobby Sanchez said investing responsibly in schools is an investment in New Britain's future, the Herald reported. Sanchez previously served as a state representative and co-chair of the Connecticut General Assembly's Education Committee, where he helped engineer the special state reimbursement policy now funding the Smith project, according to the Progressive.
State Funding Formula Shields Local Taxpayers
That funding structure is central to how New Britain has been able to take on successive school projects. The Smith project has a special 95 percent state reimbursement rate for eligible construction costs, a dramatic jump above the standard formula.
That special rate stands well above New Britain's baseline reimbursement eligibility. Under Connecticut Department of Administrative Services rules, the city's school construction projects typically qualify for a 79.64 percent reimbursement rate based on its economic profile and town wealth rankings, according to the Consolidated School District of New Britain. The Connecticut School Construction Grant Program will reduce how much of the eligible construction cost falls to local taxpayers, per the Herald's reporting.
Students Relocated While Construction Proceeds
During construction, Smith students and staff are attending classes in the former Pope John Paul II school building on Farmington Avenue, the Herald reports. The building, updated with municipal school construction funds, serves as the city’s swing school. It has successively housed students from Smalley, Chamberlain, Holmes and Smith during work at their schools, according to the Progressive. The temporary location lets construction continue at the Rutherford Street campus.
The existing Smith School was originally built in 1890 and was named after 19th-century industrialist and Board of Education member Levi O. Smith, the Progressive notes. The school had previously operated at Kelsey and East streets in the 1800s before moving to its present location, and it served 493 enrolled students prior to this year's temporary relocation.
Latest in a String of District-Wide Rebuilds
Smith follows the recent renovation of Holmes Elementary, the Herald reported. The $70 million, two-year project expanded Holmes from 86,000 to 110,000 square feet, including a 36,870-square-foot addition, and updated spaces for 425 to 450 students. The district scheduled a September 30 ribbon-cutting.
Earlier Projects in the Facilities Pipeline
A March 17, 2021, School Building Committee agenda listed addition, renovation-as-new and site-improvement work for Smalley Elementary, along with project items for Chamberlain Elementary, according to the New Britain School Building Committee. The agenda provides an earlier record of the district’s facilities work; it does not set out a schedule for Smith.
Construction on the Smith project is being handled by Newfield Construction, which is completing its fifth New Britain school project, while Kaestle Boos Associates designed the renovation, the Herald reports. Municipal school construction in New Britain is overseen by the city's School Building Committee, a body of Common Council liaisons and appointees that meets monthly to review designs, manage bond appropriations, and select contractors, according to the Progressive. Officials describe the Smith renovation as the latest phase in an ongoing, district-wide effort to modernize New Britain's public school buildings.
