Project History
In 2005, the Town Council set a plan to renovate all five schools in the district. As of today, four our of five schools have been renovated:
- Linden Street School - 2006
- Plainville High School - 2008
- Toffolon - 2009
- Wheeler - 2020
The Middle School of Plainville (MSP), which was completed on December 17,1990, with a Certificate of Occupancy, is the final school in the plan. Planning for a Middle School renovation project started well over a decade ago. It was determined by town and school officials that taxpayers would benefit by maintaining expensive systems beyond their useful life with the intent of delaying replacement until the entire building could be addressed at once.
This plan would allow for over 60% of the project to be paid for through the state's "Renovate as New" program. Leveraging state funding decreased the overall cost burden on taxpayers and provides an efficient process to address to all of the facility's issues in a 3-year period. Renovate-Like-New projects use the existing building’s structure by adding necessary interior and exterior, mechanical, safety and security improvements, and the latest learning and teaching standards.
In October 2021, the Town of Plainville retained the services of Construction Solutions Group (CSG),a company that specializes in school building assessments and projects, to develop an application to receive state reimbursement, including a comprehensive cost estimate, enrollment projections, architectural schematics, and educational specifications. Additionally, CSG developed options for the Board of Education (BOE) to consider. The BOE approved the “Renovate-as-New” option to move forward to the Town Council in May 2022.
Due to inflation during the pandemic, building costs became unpredictable and supply chains became unreliable. Alternative options, such as making incremental improvements and consolidating schools, were explored, but neither option maximized state grant funding nor posed to be a less expensive option to the town. Since then, construction costs have become more stable. In December of 2023, the Town Council introduced an ordinance proposing a referendum vote on the "Renovate as New" project. The referendum will take place on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, from 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM at the Plainville Firehouse.