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- Category: Past Issues
Panel picks
'renovate as new'
option
for PHS
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- The only section of Putnam High School that might look the same would be the outside. The Board of Education's facilities subcommittee, after months of study, will recommend that the town "renovate as new," according to board spokesperson, J. Scott Pempek.
Renovate as new, according to Pempek, would mean, "Renovate as new means everything. Basically when you walk in, it will look like a new school. All the codes have to be updated, meaning wider doors, all ADA compliant." He said, "It would look like a new school with very little left to the old one."
The current high school is more than 50 years old. The committee explored a multitude of options including, doing nothing, closing the school , and building a brand new high school.
While the committee still has a few more numbers to crunch before it makes it’s formal recommendation to the full board for approval, Pempek said the panel agreed the renovate as new option was direction to proceed in. The final report will include a detailed cost analysis of the renovate as new option as compared to closing the high school and paying tuition to neighboring towns. The savings over a 20-year period are estimated to be between $10 million to as much as $20 million when compared to closing the school and outsourcing the students. The savings really kick in at year 21 and beyond when the debt on the renovated school would be retired, he added.
Pempek said, "Putnam High School has been on a huge up swing in recent years, with improved test scores, a full selection of AP courses, a new football program, all lead by award-winning Principal Paul Brenton. The committee wanted to make sure these positive advancements continue and a new renovated facility was the logical choice."
He added, it would take a year, plus or minus for the recommendation to get full school board approval, then go to selectmen, then to a building committee and then a town-wide vote. He said then, if approved, the project would go out for bid. Construction would be concentrated in the summer, he said, to keep the disruption to minimum.
The School Funding Department has to give final approval , Pempek said. The department has estimated the state reimbursement would be in the high 60 percent to low 70 percent range.