Superintendent: 'Folks Came to Rocky Hill for Excellent Schools'

Board of Education members and the superintendent of schools expressed their feelings on the  at their meeting Thursday night.

Brian Dillon informed the other board members that the consultants for the town attended Tuesday's Board of Education Facilities Committee meeting and gave a brief presentation on the "approach and costs impacts" of possible renovation plans. 

"At the end of the meeting, the sub committee had a consensus that what was best for the community and the Board of Education was to support a complete renovated to new project of the high school," Dillon said.

In June, the Board of Education was informed that New England Association of Schools & Colleges Inc. Commission on Public Secondary Schools

René “Skip” Rivard said the public has to realize that the board is looking at more than just renovating the buildings themselves.

"We are not looking at the fact that we need paint or carpets or a new roof," Rivard stated. "The mission and goals of the Board of Education of Rocky Hill is to improve our educational environment. And to do that we have to improve our facilities."

Rivard added that technology is a necessity today and the students need the facilities to support them.

"I could not agree with you any more," said chairwoman Raffaella Calciano-Coler.

Board member Chris Buckbee agreed that improvements should be made to the high school to address the issues in the NEASC report. However, he felt the new wellness center and proposed locker rooms are items that "should be left out" of the renovation plan.

"We would all like to have these things but, I think the taxpayers' money is better spent renovating the inside," Buckbee stated. "We should look to do exterior planning down the road."

While campaigning, Buckbee said many residents told him that they would not vote for a high school renovation plan with any "frivolous spending."

"We cannot escape the fact that we have four school buildings that are in need of significant repair," said Superintendent Jeffrey Villar, who was attending his last official Board of Education meeting in Rocky Hill. "And frankly in my opinion, none of that repair is frivolous in any way."

Villar added that the board's specifications are to make the buildings into "21st century schools," which will help students compete in the world. He urged members of the Town Council, Board of Education and the public to "seek excellence when moving forward with the school referendum in the near future."

"Quite frankly the conversation has slipped to a level of discussion of what is adequate," Villar exclaimed. "And I don't think families with children moved to Rocky Hill for the sake of adequate schools. I think folks came to Rocky Hill for excellent schools."

Board member John Bedlack appealed to the audience and told them that they need their support in this process.

"It would be the kids sitting right here now who would benefit the most from what we are looking at the high school," Bedlack said. He added board members would make themselves available to listen to the public's suggestions and input on the plan.

"This isn't just a Board of Education project, it is a town of Rocky Hill project," Calciano-Coler said.

By NEASC placing the high school on a warning list, it has indicated that the facilities at the high school are subpar, Villar stated. He added that if NEASC accredited the elementary schools, it would have been easily placed on a warning list as well.

"We (facilities committee) acknowledged that there are still deficiencies at the elementary schools," Dillon said.

The high school's status with NEASC has made it a top priority but, the board will not ignore the other schools, Calciano-Coler added.

At the Facilities Committee meeting, members also discussed developing a long-term facility plan for .

"That is probably the best school in the sense of facilities," Dillon said. "But we need to identify long term costs and impacts in place to maintain that school."