By Philip R. Devlin
(September 21, 2026) — The first referendum for a renovation of the District high school occurred in April of 1992. That vote centered around the need to reconstruct the pool. The swimming pool’s porous cinder block walls were not sealed properly with paint when the facility was built in 1973. Plus, no vapor barrier had been installed. Therefore, chlorinated air seeped through the walls and corroded the steel support members, creating conditions that might have caused a collapse.
As the swim coach, I was on that building committee and presented at a public forum in the auditorium on March 12, 1992, about our proposal to fix the pool (photo above, button worn by pool supporters). About 70-80 townspeople attended that meeting. The cost for the fix was $846,000, and the tax implications for homeowners were immediately revealed. Nobody at the forum voiced any objections, and on April 16, 1992, a District referendum overwhelmingly approved the expense by more than 70%.
In 2016 District voters were asked to approve a renovation bond of $10 million to upgrade a number of facility components that were more than 42 years old, such as the roof and the boilers. In addition, after 42+ years of use, many of the seats in the Auditorium were broken or torn, the field house floor needed resurfacing, and numerous lighting upgrades took place. Distric-t wide, 1,873 voters participated in the referendum. 1,004 voted in favor (53%) and 869 voted against (47%).
A District building committee chaired by Tom Hogarty carefully monitored the renovations, often meeting weekly to monitor the progress. According to a 2021 BOE report on the project, “the multi-faceted venture took place in stages with the roof renovated first, allowing time to identify and address potential problems such as leaks. A Firestone Rubber Roof was selected, and the project included raising all of the air handlers, adding penthouse flashing work, installing extra ladders and replacing the complete field house window wall. Silktown Roofing was chosen as the lead contractor for the roof and completed the project on-time and under budget during the summer of 2017.”
2018 saw the auditorium improvements occur (photo above): “Renovations to the auditorium included new seating, carpeting, epoxy flooring, and stage sound dampening. The space was brought up to code with ADA bridge access and a new wheelchair lift. The auditorium stage curtains were removed and replaced, and three existing tracks were upgraded with machines for motorized operation. A lighting control booth was added and the walls and ceilings were painted.”
2018 also saw the 42-year-old boilers get needed replacements. “Lead contractor MJ Daly worked on removing the two large oil burners and replaced them with six smaller, more efficient dual-fuel burning boilers. The new Cleaver Brooks boilers can heat using either oil or natural gas, allowing for more cost-saving options in the future. Circulation pumps, domestic hot water heaters and expansion tanks also were replaced, and updates were made to the floor, drains, lighting and entrance to the facility. Interior and exterior LED lighting upgrades took place throughout the campus. Energy-efficient lights were placed in the Media Center, hallways, Auditorium, main lobby, Fieldhouse, and Central Office gymnasium. Outside, energy saving updates were made to the lighting in the bus barn, parking lots and walkways.”
1,478 Solar Panels were added to the roof, and the District was accepted into the Eversource Energy 15-year Zero Emissions Renewable Energy Credit (ZREC) Program. To quote again from the 2021 BOE report: “The energy generated through the panels is being used by the high school, and the district earns $65 per ZREC, with a payout from Eversource of over $16,000 to date.”
Some aspects of the renovation (such as the roof) were finished on time and at or under budget; other aspects such as the boiler replacement took longer and cost more than anticipated. Nevertheless, due to the excellent stewardship of the building committee, all this work was completed under budget for $7.27 million— a very rare occurrence in public school construction these days. 10 year-bonds were issued in the summer of 2021 to pay for the work. The District is currently paying $893,500 a year in principal and interest on these bonds. Those payments will continue for five more years.
It should be noted that if the current proposed school renovation project of nearly $152 million passes the referendum on September 24, 2026 some of the improvements paid for by the 2016 bond will be lost, such as the 157 solar panels above the science wing and seminar room in the C-wing of the school, before their “useful life” (as judged by the State of Connecticut) is up; therefore, a pro-rated payback to the State by District 17, now estimated to be $500,000, must occur. Clearly, an amount of this size doesn’t just involve payback for 157 solar panels. Other items, such as the roof slated for demolition and/or the possible loss of the newer boilers, must be factored in to arrive at this figure.
Photos: Auditorium by Doug Rogers, CREC; Button by Philip Devlin; Aerial View provided by RSD 17
