The district says the extensive renovation of the campus will address numerous deficiencies in the existing school: the poor conditions of the athletic fields and tennis courts; the condition and age of the auditorium, stage, and lobby; less-than-ideal traffic flow into and out of the site; parking problems; inadequate academic spaces; inefficient energy consumption in the school's academic wing, air quality issues and security concerns.
Voters in the towns of Bethlehem and Woodbury approved the renovations and additions in 2013, but work was delayed by legal challenges to the vote. An October 2015 decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court cleared the way for the project to move forward, the district says.
The project architect, The SLAM Collaborative, is working to create a three-dimensional model of the school to assess space needs and weigh factors such as enrollment, operations, safety, and best practices.
Construction is estimated to begin in June 2017. The district plans to have school remain in use throughout the renovation.