SEYMOUR – Students at the 71-year-old Bungay School will soon have a new building to learn in, following a referendum held Thursday (Oct. 9).
The question on the ballot asked whether the town should appropriate $60 million for construction of a new Bungay School. The results were as follows:
YES: 1,744
NO: 391
The vote total includes absentee ballots.
The town is not expected to spend more than $20 million, because of the state’s school construction reimbursement program.
Parents and advocates erupted into cheers as the results were announced in the gymnasium of the Seymour Community Center.
“This goes to show you what (a) community Seymour really is, and we thank you all, and this is just the beginning,” said Rebecca Bennett, a nurse at Bungay School and member of the Bungay School Rebuild Alliance, a grassroots community group which was formed to advocate for the passage of the referendum question.
The new school will be built on the grounds of the current Bungay School on Bungay Road. Construction could start in May 2027 and wrap up by fall 2028, according to an estimated timeline from the Rebuild Alliance.
Students will use the existing school while the new school is built. The new school will be built where the playing fields are now.
There are about 450 students in grades kindergarten though fifth and 70 staffers at the school, according to the school’s website.
Elected officials were also on-hand to celebrate the referendum results – including both Republican First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis and her challenger, Democratic Selectwoman Theresa Conroy. Both candidates congratulated the Rebuild Alliance on their advocacy work.
“They knew what to do. They got the word out, they used all social medias, they knocked on doors. Very happy for them, very happy for the children of the future,” Drugonis said.
“This is fabulous. It was long overdue,” Conroy said.
Fred Stanek, a member of the Board of Selectpersons and the Bungay School Building Committee, also thanked the parents and teachers for their work.
“You all made this happen,” Stanek said.
Background
The current building, which was constructed in 1954, hasn’t been renovated since 1996. Town officials have said building a new school is cheaper than renovating the current building.
Officials and town residents have been discussing the need to update the Bungay School for years. Two committees – first a “Bungay School Facility Needs Study Committee” and then a “Bungay Elementary School Building Committee” – spent more than a year detailing infrastructure issues at the school and studying the best route to take to address those issues.
Bungay has its original windows, bathrooms and flooring. Its cooling system can’t keep up when temperatures rise. The building lacks air conditioning in the gymnasium. The building is also short on storage and parking. Click here for a previous story.