Four Groton Schools Prepare For Moves

Before school, after school and in between parent teacher conferences, third grade teacher Gerry Roy packs.

She’s finished 40 boxes so far, and she’s ahead of most. The staff at must have the entire building packed by 3 p.m. on June 15, the day after school ends.

“It’s just been something we’ve had to work around,” said Roy. “It’s been doable, but a challenge.”

The school must be empty because r, a project that will be repeated in six Groton schools in future years.

Middle School Moves

Mary Morrisson is not the only school packing. Teachers at .

Wes Greenleaf, director of facilities and grounds for Groton Public Schools, said the district is taking everything out of Fitch that must go with teachers when the school closes. Teachers will pack their desks and supplies, and facilities staff will bring those boxes to their new homes. Furniture will stay until they determine what's needed where.

Once classrooms are emptied of supplies all the furniture will be covered; some will be moved to the middle schools and some will replace older furniture at other Groton schools, Greenleaf said.

Only about 20 percent of the classrooms at Cutler must be packed and relocated. About 70 percent of clasrooms at West Side will be packed.

Timing

Greenleaf said boxes will be delivered to their appropriate new classrooms in middle schools by August 1.

“They’ll have plenty of time to set up their room before school starts and determine if what they have in the room isn’t what they really want,” he said.

Mary Morrisson will wait a little longer - until about the middle of August.

The elementary must pack 18 classrooms, the main office, the nurses’ office, the media center, and a literacy resource center separate from the library.

“It means you have to account for everything not bolted to the wall,” Principal Monica Franzone said.

She notified teachers in December so they could get started. The school is about 15 percent packed, and hopes to be 20 percent done by the end of this week.

“It’s a huge job, so people are doing it when and where they can,” Franzone said. “It would be like telling you, ‘Pack up your house.’”

Future Schools

Roy gets the “most prepared to move” award among the staff. Of the 40 packed boxes in her room, she took 10 home, just to make sure she’d have the critical supplies she'd need for the first month of next school year.

Greenleaf said the process of empting classrooms to remove asbestos floor tile will be repeated for the next six years. Fitch High School and Charles Barnum are next on the list, he said.