The East Lyme school district hopes to fix broken ceiling tiles, broken windows, poor airflow and other problems associated with three of its elementary schools with a $37.5 million referendum was up for a vote on Tuesday.
The referendum passed with a 1247-430 vote.
About 100 people have piled into the East Lyme Community Center each hour to cast their ballots, according to Town Meeting Moderator Gene Cushman. It’s a solid turnout considering the vote was postponed two weeks because of a snow storm and state-wide travel ban, he said.
“I think the schools are in bad shape,” said one voter, Brooke Stevens of Niantic.
“We need to provide the best that we can for our upcoming generation,” said voter Anne Calanquin, also from Niantic.
A vote in favor of the referendum pays for renovations to Niantic Center, Flanders and Lillie B. Haynes elementary schools.
School officials took NBC Connecticut inside Lillie B. Haynes last month and said all three schools need better air flow, need to become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and need new flooring, ceiling tiles and lighting.
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Flanders needs a new roof; the windows at Niantic Center are close to 50 years old, said East Lyme Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Newton.
Currently the schools house about 850 students. Newton said he’s expecting that to increase to 900 to 1,000 students very soon, and wants to make sure the schools are ready.
“We want to make sure the Niantic Center School, ‘the fish school’ as we call it, is ready for when (my son Jack) and his brother go in the next couple of years,” said Colleen Hayes who voted Tuesday afternoon.
“In the future it would be cool to see my kid go to the same school I went to,” said Rob Cunningham about Niantic Center School and why he’s voting in favor of the referendum.
East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson said the average household would have to pay $400 a year for the next 20 years.
“I’m totally against this,” said voter Joseph Mingo of East Lyme. “It’s like taking a 50-year-old car… and spray painting it, and thinking you got a new car. Total waste of the taxpayers’ money.”
Mingo said he would rather see one brand new school that houses all elementary school students.
James Goode is the head custodian at Lillie B. Haynes. He didn’t share how he voted, but said the schools definitely need upgrades.
“Things can be fixed, but I would love a new school, personally,” Goode laughed. “I would love a brand new school!”
If the referendum passes, Newton said the next step is to file all the paperwork for the project with the state by June 30, and construction should begin in June 2018.
If it doesn’t pass, Newtown said the design steering committee would have to start over. But their plan would likely involve less money and smaller-scale fixed for the schools.
The last time there was a big renovation on all three schools dates back to the early 1970s, Newton said. There was a little bit of work done on Lillie B. Haynes 15 years ago.
As of 5 p.m. almost 1,050 people cast their ballots. Polls are open until 8 p.m.
