Some elementary school students in Middletown, Connecticut, will be housed temporarily in a former middle school while their campus undergoes a major renovation.
Fox61 reports that the $48 million overhaul of Macdonough Elementary School is estimated to take as long as two years. Until the project is finished, about 250 displaced students will attend the former Keigwin Middle School, which is about 10 minutes from Macdonough.
Middletown Mayor Gene Nocera says the Macdonough building is in dire need of repair.
“It could no longer function as a school," Nocera says. "All of the important mechanical systems are beyond their life expectancy. It’s time for repair.”
The improvement will aim to restore the building as a suitable place for learning while preserving its historical value.
“It’ll be a modern school," the mayor says. "A lot more windows, a lot more light going into it, a more airy feeling. It’ll have flex space so that classrooms can be expanded if we have to double up classes.”
When the renovated Macdonough reopens, it’ll be a STEM school, Nocera says, so families in other districts can opt to send their students there.
The former Keigwin Middle, which will serve as swing space during construction, has been vacant for several years, the mayor says.
"We’re doing a little renovation over there,” says Nocera. “We have to check the air conditioning unit, heating system, have to modernize it and paint it so we can be ready for the kids.”
