Submitted by Jen Barro, Central Middle School Parent (but sadly my kids will have graduated from middle school by the time there is any ribbon cutting)
Months of careful deliberation went into crafting the Educational Specifications for Central Middle School (CMS). The Board of Education (BOE) sought input from the community, the superintendent, the CMS principal, 34 educators, and a school building consultant team in order to produce the 44-page document that prescribes the number of classrooms required to support an existing two-team-per-grade model, as well as needed square footage for spaces such as the cafeteria, media center, and auditorium.
The eight member BOE spent an eternity discussing enrollment figures and wrestling with the fact that trends ebb and flow, and currently we are seeing declining student numbers in the district and at CMS, mirroring national figures. In the coming 10 years, maximum CMS enrollment is predicted to be 511. But, looking backwards to 2002, CMS enrollment has averaged 629 with a peak of 730. In August 2022, the BOE voted to design a school suited for 660 students, to accommodate an anticipated rebound enrollment in future decades.
Notably, enrollment projections rely heavily on birth rates and do not anticipate an influx of new families or high density housing popping up in the CMS catchment area, such as one underway on Milbank Avenue and a proposed 105-unit project near the Greenwich Library. The enrollment projections were wrong this school year, underestimating kindergarten by 59 students (10%). Surprise!
Also, we shouldn’t discount the ‘If you build it, they will come’ factor. Private school families who are currently seeing a building that was deemed ‘unfit for human occupancy’ in February 2022, may rethink spending $40K per year on private school tuition when they behold CMS reincarnated as a state-of-the-art building. CMS teachers and staff are dedicated educators and a fabulous new building will make it a magnet.
Despite the careful crafting of the CMS Educational Specifications by professionals and our elected school board, there is already pressure from some Republican leaders in town to cut the capital budget for the building. The Republican-controlled Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) has set unrealistic budget guidelines for the CMS project that threaten to shrink the school before there is even a draft of architectural plans. A vocal Republican BET member is lobbying to reduce the proposed building size by at least 40% – which would result in a middle school smaller than some of its feeder elementary schools. During his recent budget presentation, First Selectman Fred Camillo inexplicably chopped $10 million off the BOE’s capital request of $85.5 million. This clash could force reconsideration of the Educational Specifications, delaying the project on a building that was deemed uninhabitable last year, and potentially result in constructing a school inadequately sized for future students.
Realistically, undersizing our new middle school, despite a probable future rebound in enrollment, could mean that the first lunch wave for 12-year-olds would start at 9:45 am, that teachers would need to share and repurpose classrooms, that students would be relegated to working on collaborative projects in noisy hallways, and our Town legislative body, the RTM, would be forced to scramble for another home for their monthly meetings. That all seems rather short sighted and a disservice to our students, teachers, and community.
Now is the time to speak up for future CMS students. Email the BET and let them know what you think – [email protected]. Attend the BET Budget Committee meeting on the CMS capital project February 9th at 1 pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room or watch it live streamed (but not recorded!) via the Greenwich Community Television channel on cable and YouTube. There will be an opportunity to make comments at a public hearing on the full FY2023-2024 budget on March 29th at 7 pm. The CMS Building Committee, now tasked with enacting the BOE-approved Educational Specifications and shepherding the building project, is also planning community engagement sessions in March and April.
And most importantly, vote for all six of the BET Democrats in the November municipal elections. Like so many of us, they are tired of financially neglecting our schools and need your support to regain control of the Town finance board.
Jen Barro
Central Middle School Parent (but sadly my kids will have graduated from middle school by the time there is any ribbon cutting)