SEYMOUR – Voters will head to the polls Oct. 9 to decide whether to build a new Bungay Elementary School.
The Bungay School Rebuild Alliance, a group advocating for people to vote yes, organized a tour of the building Monday (Sept. 29).
The new school will cost about $60 million to build. Seymour will be on the hook for $20 million after reimbursement from the State of Connecticut.
Bungay School houses grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
The following photos detail some of the trouble spots pointed out by members of the Bungay School Rebuild Alliance. All photos were taken by The Valley Indy.
Above is a photo of a boys’ bathroom in the third-grade area.
The bathroom, with its original aqua blue wall tiles and brown and beige checkered floor tiles, is showing its age.
A small window in the room doesn’t open.
In a third-grade classroom (pictured above), several windows are outlined with black duct tape in an effort to seal drafts. Parents say teachers tell them to have their kids bring an extra sweater during the winter months because the heating system isn’t up to par.
Above: a closet was converted to house a special education office.
In the kindergarten section (pictured above), duct tape covers some of the cracked floor tiles in the classrooms because the tiles, which are original to the building, are no longer available to replace.
The school’s sole copy room shares space with a network of internet connectivity wires and audio-visual carts with projectors duct-taped on top to hold them in place.
A water fountain in one of the school hallways that no longer works.
Other areas of the building, including the nurse’s office and art room, were also highlighted on the tour.
- The nurse’s room is one large space, with no dividers for student privacy.
- The art room has a musty smell and a problem with crickets making their way inside.
- An industrial-sized dehumidifier hums in the art room all day long.
- A single adult bathroom, in the teacher’s room, is the only one for adults in the entire school.
Bungay School was built in 1954 and was last renovated in 1996 when a first-grade classroom wing was added.
Voters will be asked to cast ballots from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Seymour Community Center, 20 Pine St.