SOUTH WINDSOR — A long-stalled plan to upgrade the campus of South Windsor High School could move forward in two phases, with the turf field centerpiece to come second.
The Board of Education previously requested discussion of the project at the Town Council's July 7 meeting, but council members postponed discussion to their next regular meeting while waiting for an updated cost estimate.
Lisa Maneeley, chairwoman of the Board of Education, submitted a letter to the Town Council dated July 16 detailing adjustments to the campus improvements project, now planned as two separate phases. Maneeley said the $2.15 million "phase one" would cover construction of tennis and pickleball courts along with their associated parking required by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and "phase two" would include the lighted multipurpose turf field and traffic improvements, as the courts must be relocated first.
"By putting forward a $2.15 million project, rather than a $8.9 million project, we believe we are acting in the best interest of both the school community and the South Windsor taxpayer," Maneeley said.
The high school campus improvements project was first presented to the Board of Education in October 2023, after which the Board of Education requested the Town Council hold a March 2024 referendum to approve $7.56 million in bonding to fund it. In January 2024, the Town Council voted 5-4 against setting the referendum date.
The Board of Education secured PZC approval for the project in April 2024 and again asked the Town Council in December 2024 to hold a March referendum for the project, then estimated to cost $8.67 million. The Town Council again rejected the referendum in an identical vote in January 2025.
Maneeley said in her July 16 letter that although the Board of Education would not like to delay the campus improvements further, as the board has pushed for the project since 2023, school officials recognize that the Town Council plans to include several million-dollar bond referendum questions on this November's ballot.
"Given these competing financial demands, we are concerned that placing all of these items on a single referendum may overwhelm taxpayers," Maneeley said.
Alongside proposed charter revisions, other questions that could appear on the ballot include $9.35 million in bonding for repairs and code compliance at the Parks and Recreation facility in the former Orchard Hill Elementary School and a separate $2 million for open space acquisition.
The ballot could also include a question for up to $15.2 million in bonding for upgrades to the Water Pollution Control Authority's three largest pump stations at Clark Street, Benedict Drive, and Pleasant Valley Road, though officials have said those bonds would be paid for through user fees rather than the town's debt service.
After Mayor Audrey Delnicki read Maneeley's letter into the record Monday night, none of the council members discussed the matter further but agreed to pass forward a consensus on the referendum.
In contrast, the Town Council gave its consensus in support of the Parks and Recreation facility referendum after a lengthy discussion Monday night, following another long discussion at the council's July 7 meeting.
The $9.35 million project proposed by the town's Public Building Commission would address accessibility and code compliance issues at the former Orchard Hill school at 350 Foster St., now the permanent home of the Parks and Recreation Department, as well as a potential roof replacement. An earlier, more expensive iteration of the project would have expanded the facilities to be more akin to that of a community center, but the Town Council requested it be scaled down to necessities.
Debate over the project between town staff, members of the Public Building Commission, and some Town Council members has centered around whether the roof replacement is necessary based on current conditions, as cutting it could reduce the project cost by $2 million.
An argument over duties and obligations of the school district and the Town Manager dominated the bulk of the nearly two-hour discussion Monday night, but Town Council members also proposed to explain on the ballot what other improvements to the Parks and Recreation facility could be conducted with the bonding if the town determined that the building's roof did not need replacement.
No date has been set yet for the bond referendum votes, but municipalities have until Sept. 5 to approve any questions that will appear on the November election ballot unless otherwise specifically allowed by state law.