RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Board of Education’s Strategic Planning Committee agreed June 25 to narrow its ongoing school facilities master planning effort by taking a closer look at several redevelopment scenarios while asking consultants to prepare additional information on maintaining the district’s existing buildings.
Committee members said they want consultants from SLAM Collaborative and StudioJAED to continue analyzing three scenarios that range from addressing programmatic needs without school closures to consolidating the district from six elementary schools to five. The committee also asked consultants to develop a more basic “maintenance and stewardship” scenario showing what would be required to maintain the district’s current school buildings without broader facility improvements.
Committee Chairman Scott Sigel emphasized that the committee remains in the screening phase of the district’s long-range master planning process and is not making final decisions. He said the committee’s role is to identify which concepts warrant additional analysis before any recommendations are presented to the full Board of Education, other town boards and the public. Superintendent Susie Da Silva echoed that point, saying the committee is working to narrow a wide range of possibilities before any formal decisions are considered.