An overhead view of Bungay School in Seymour, via Google Maps.
SEYMOUR – Members of the Bungay School Facility Needs Study Committee said that at 70 years old and with the last renovation done in 1996, Bungay School is due for a makeover.
The committee, following a months-long look into what the elementary school needs in terms of an upgrade, presented its findings during the Board of Selectpersons on Jan. 2.
The board voted to accept the committee’s report and approved the formation of a building committee to figure out how to proceed.
A proposal will ultimately go to voters for approval at a town-wide referendum.
There’s no word on how much money will be spent at this point. The study committee did not present any estimates on what a renovation/ addition could cost. A proposal with costs will be developed by the new building committee.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said improvements are long overdue.
“From seeing the school, looking at the safety, looking at the environmental and life safety codes, I think this is very much needed, not just because the school is an asset to our town because it’s our children, it’s our future and this will help move Seymour forward,” Drugonis said. “It’s time now to take that next step.”
Seymour Schools’ Facilities Director Tim Connors, who served on the study committee, said the building has been maintained over the years but much of its parts are original to the building and need to be brought up to code and modernized.
“We do the best we can, but Band-Aids are no longer a fix,” Connors said.
Connors and the school district’s head nurse, Rebecca Bennett, who also served on the study committee, said the aging infrastructure includes original windows, bathrooms, flooring, along with a heating and cooling system that can’t keep up when temperatures soar.
“We had to call half days last year when some of the classrooms got to more than 88 degrees, because the window (AC) units couldn’t handle the heat,” Bennett said.
Bennett also said she uses foam pool noodles at the base of the windows in her nurse’s office to help prevent rain and snow from getting in, and to keep cold air in and hot air out, because the windows are way past their efficiency date, having been installed 70 years ago.
She said high humidity also causes the gymnasium floor to become slippery, due to no air conditioning. A lack of storage in classrooms also forces teachers to use student cubbies for supplies, Rebecca noted, and a closet has been converted into conference space. Outside the building, Bennett said a lack of parking spaces and a shared exit for buses and student drop causes problems on Bungay Road.
The flooring in several parts of the building is cracking and is being held down with duct tape, Bennett said.
The study committee cited numerous other issues that need a fix and other recommendations including the following:
*Installation of central air and improvements to the heating system
*Replacement of entry and interior doors
*Installation of blinds with new windows
*Upgrade of technology and Wi-Fi throughout the building
*Creation of additional storage
*Expanded media center
*Addition of a STEM lab, sensory room and more staff areas for meetings with students
*A 3 – 4 room addition to accommodate educational needs of current enrollment and space for future enrollment increases
*A covered waiting area outside the school for parents waiting to drop off and pick up
*A revamped nurse’s room/area to provide for better privacy of students in need of care
The last renovation to Bungay occurred in 1996 with the addition of a first-grade classroom wing. School district officials had a similar discussion about Bungay in 2018.
Upgrades to the town’s other three schools were done more recently including construction of a brand new Seymour Middle School in 2001; a renovation and addition of a science wing at Seymour High School in 2005 and expansion/addition which moved the former LoPresti School to Chatfield School for the Chatfield-LoPresti School project in 2012.
