Improvements to begin with window replacement at West Rocks Middle School – Thehour.com

NORWALK Window replacement will begin at West Rocks Middle School this summer as part of a number of major overhauls to Norwalk Public Schools over the next several years.

West Rocks phase one will be worked on this summer, said Michael Barbis, chairman of the Norwalk Board of Education Facilities Committee. Theyre doing half of windows this year and half of them next year. The windows were almost falling out. In the facilities study that was identified as the single-largest thing that needed attention at that building.

The Common Council allocated nearly $1.03 million in Norwalks 2017-18 capital budget for the first phase of the door-and-window replacement at the 61-year-old building at 81 West Rocks Road.

Were going to have windows that are not that old single-pane glass where you dont have that much protection from the elements, said West Rocks Principal Lynne Moore. Its really going to be an enhancement to the building.

Moore said window replacement on the front of the building will begin June 15 and be done by the start of school this fall. Windows on the Aiken Street side will be replaced in summer 2018.

Major construction on two other Norwalk schools is expected to be start by early 2019.

In April, the council approved $41.9 million in capital funding to build a new South Norwalk School next to the former Nathaniel Ely School site, which Columbus Magnet School will move into, and a $43.4 million to reshape Ponus Ridge Middle School into a pre-K through 8 STEM-themed magnet school.

The council advanced all three projects this month by authorizing the filing of grant applications for state reimbursement. June 30 is the deadline to apply for reimbursement, which Barbis anticipates will cover 32 percent of the construction costs.

The city will file the grant applications and learn early next year whether the reimbursement has been approved.

The State Bond Commission meets and votes in January, Barbis said. They have to review, they have to approve it. They bond it and then we get notified that its been approved by the state and then we move forward. In the meantime, we will put this out to an architect.

Officials would like to see construction start on the new South Norwalk school and new Ponus Ridge Magnet School by 2018 but that may not happen until early 2019, according to Barbis.

The goal is to have the classrooms up and running by September 2020 but that would be very ambitious, Barbis said.

The South Norwalk and Ponus Ridge Middle School projects are part of the school boards $172.8 million five-year capital plan.

Kevin Schultz contributed to this story.

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