Key Meeting Next Week On New Simsbury School Plans

SIMSBURY, CT — Simsbury's zoning board next week has a key public hearing and, possibly, a vote on plans to open a new school in the Simsbury School System.

Simsbury Public Schools plans to convert the office building at 2 Farms Village Road, Simsbury, into a new, in-house special education facility.

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the Simsbury Zoning Commission will host a public hearing and, possibly, vote on a permit that would make that happen.

The hearing/meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Simsbury Town Hall, 933 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury.

Specifically, the property owner, Girard Brothers Corp., is hoping to obtain a "special exception permit" for the site.

That permit would allow for the operation of a school there as opposed to what the site is, actually, zoned for — a "planned office" or PO zone.

If granted, the permit paves the way for the town to officially purchase, for $1 million, the office building.

Last February, the Simsbury Board of Finance conducted a hearing on spending the money, and it also approved the expenditure, which would come from the town's capital reserves.

The school system is looking at the building purchase to garner long-term savings within the board of education's special education budget.

Special education, according to a report filed by the local school system, is getting more and more expensive.

By doing special education in-house, according to the report, the local public school system said it expects to save as much as $500,000 annually by the third year after the building is purchased, with additional savings as time goes on.

When fully developed, the new building would have four classrooms designed to educate children with special needs, with two elementary-school level classrooms, along with one middle school and one high school classroom.

The new facility would educate up to 25 students, with Simsbury officials estimating up to 10 could be out of the district, meaning additional revenue to the local school system.

At its peak, the town estimates a $19.47 million special education budget under the current setup.

But if Simsbury does its special education in-house, it could save $1.3 million annually once everything is up and running long-term.

For more information on the application for 2 Farms Village Road, click on this link.

For the minutes of the Feb. 18 Simsbury Board of Finance meeting, click on this link.

From Feb. 14: 'Simsbury Mulls Building Purchase For New School'