Forum on Feb. 20 to Discuss Future of Madison School Buildings

MADISON, CT - The Madison business and economic community is invited to attend an important forum to discuss the Board of Education’s 10 Year Capital Maintenance Plan and optimal approaches to address aging facilities. The forum will be hosted by the Economic Development Commission and the Board of Education.

Because Madison’s School District has long been an important asset of our town and a leading reason that families indicate moving to and remaining in Madison, the Economic Development Commission invites commercial property owners, business owners and others interested in the economic sustainability of Madison to participate on February 20.

Following a joint meeting of the Boards of Education, Finance, and Selectmen on July 17, 2018, to review the Board of Education adopted 10 Year Capital Maintenance Plan, a consensus was established that it would be in the best interests of the town to begin an inquiry to determine the optimal approach to address the problem of aging and deteriorating school facilities, represented by the nearly $100 million in maintenance projects required to remediate the existing facilities.

As a result, with a baseline established with the 10 Year Capital Maintenance Plan, each Board recommended two members to serve on the ad hoc committee, “Tri Board School Facilities Working Group”. The committee is comprised of: Board of Education members Kirk Barneby and Galen Cawley, Board of Finance members Bennett Pudlin and Judith Friedman, and Board of Selectmen members Jean Ferris and Al Goldberg.

The overarching goal of this committee is to work collaboratively across the three primary town Boards to identify additional options for the BOE, beyond the BOE adopted 10 Year Capital Maintenance Plan, as potential solutions to the issue of aging school facilities and mounting maintenance projects.

The committee identified criteria by which to evaluate any additional options. The committee has agreed that any new options must be fiscally reasonable, accommodate long-term enrollment trends, and consider the needs of the 21st Century learning environment, while acknowledging the town’s obligation for other town facility projects.

A commitment has been made to engage a cross section of community members for input into this process. Several public forums have been facilitated, and a series of meetings with key town employees, such as the Director of Youth and Family Services, the Director of Emergency Services, the Director of Senior Services, and representatives from the Friends of Madison Youth/Madison Arts Barn, have been held to foster a wider perspective on this vexing community matter. Most recently, local realtors have hosted committee members to share their insights related to the real estate market.

A key demographic that warrants consideration is the local business community. For that reason, the Tri-Board School Facilities Working Group is most interested in facilitating a dialogue with local merchants to gain further insights that might inform the long-term decision-making process.

The forum will be held on February 20, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the Town Campus Hammonasset Room.