Regional Education Center Still Interested In Former Groton Heights School

The results of a survey asking residents what should be done with the former Groton Heights School should be compiled by the end of the week, the Groton town manager said Monday.

The survey was done in February and March and showed, in general terms, that residents want the building saved and the property publicly owned. Many said they would like it to be used for educational purposes.

LEARN, the regional education center in Southeastern Connecticut that opened the Marine Science Magnet High School this fall, remains interested in the building, Town Manager Mark Oefinger said.

He said he spoke to a representative from LEARN on Monday who confirmed this interest, although he doesn’t believe the group has advanced the proposal. Oefinger said LEARN runs a magnet school in Waterford and may want a new home for that school.

The Groton Heights Reuse School Committee, which met Monday and is charged with recommending future use of the building, asked for the survey to gauge public opinion about it. Archie Swindell, who recently compiled a similar survey report about the future of the former Noank School, is working on the Groton Heights survey.

Groton City Mayor Marian Galbraith said the task force would want to look first at building uses that comply with current zoning, rather than those that require a change. The property is residentially-zoned but allows educational uses. 

Catherine Kolnaski, chairwoman of the task force and a town councilor, said LEARN would be an excellent choice for the building. She also said the school would be an ideal site for a visitor center or similar use.

The task force agreed Monday to wait for final survey report before making a recommendation. The group meets next on Oct. 3.

Groton Heights was built in 1912, and is considered solid despite its age. However, it could require substantial work to bring it up to code; the last estimate was $6 million in 2003, and did not include making the building handicapped accessible.

The building functioned as a school until just a few years ago. The town took over the building in July 2007, after the Board of Education closed it and it became vacant.

The school is situated on 2.6 acres between Smith Street, Monument Street and Fort Griswold, and has historical significance.

The first Groton Heights School was a wooden school built in 1888, and was called Groton's "First District Schoolhouse," according to Mayor James Streeter, town historian. The wooden school was replaced by the brick school in 1912.