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Audit: Enrollment Goal Not Met
Town officials and members of the board of education will hold a joint meeting Wednesday to discuss the findings of a state audit of the town's middle school/high school building project.The audit finds that the town's expectation that the new facility would have an enrollment of 1,070 students has not been met. As a result, the state will most likely require the town to repay approximately $4.6 million in bonds it had borrowed to help pay for the project. Current enrollment at the school is approximately 580 students.
"My first reaction, back when the information was first made available to us, was surprise," said Superintendent Sally Doyen, who was hired in 2005, after the school project was completed. "The data and the documents were submitted at the beginning of the project back in 2001. At that point they were accepted and so there really wasn't any concern by anyone here at that time."
An enrollment projection of 780 students was initially made by then-Superintendent Joseph Castagnola when the project was proposed to the state board of education in June 2001. The figure was based on student enrollment data at the time and an enrollment projection of middle school students developed by the school facilities committee. In September 2001, Castagnola increased the enrollment projection to 1,070 students, based on an increase in the enrollment of kindergarten students that year and information obtained from the town's planning department regarding an increase in building applications and permits. A 10 percent increase was also added by Castagnola to allow for future growth.
Completed in 2004, the $39 million school project included the renovation of the town's aging high school along with the construction of a new middle school building. The result is a modern learning facility with a new science wing, expanded classrooms, a culinary art space, a larger library and a renovated cafeteria. New energy-efficient windows and light fixtures were installed, along with new lockers. The middle school building includes a two-story entryway linked to a 620-seat auditorium shared by both schools.
"I remember sitting down with the superintendent of schools who gave a presentation for the referendum. He told us that this was the school facility to build for the future of Portland," said First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield, who was on the board of selectmen at the time. "Now the auditors are saying even though we gave you all this money and it was approved by the legislature and the money was bonded out, now we want you to give a portion of the money back."
In 2002, the state agreed to pay approximately $22 million of the estimated $39.3 million cost of the project. Portland later got a break in its share of the cost of the project when the town's finance department reported that the annual tax burden was to reach its peak by 2008, at least two years ahead of schedule.
Two bond issues, one for $9,457,000 in June 2003 and another for $9,150,000 in early August of that year, drew interest rates of 3.34 percent and 4.19 percent respectively. Savings from the 5.5 percent interest rate budgeted to repay the 18-year debt amounted to about $5.7 million. Also, the state agreed to pick up a larger share of the building cost, which saved taxpayers an additional $4.6 million.
Doyen said the upcoming meeting, which is open to the public, will help clarify some of the issues so that a decision can be made on what to do next.
"The purpose of the meeting is to determine collectively what the next steps are," said Doyen. "Mrs. Bransfield has invited our two legislators to be in attendance as well. So the community, board of education and our legislators need to work to determine the next steps. After the meeting we will see what the direction is."
Copyright © 2008, The Hartford Courant
