New Haven Independent

Because the filing deadline for an application for state money for the project was April 15, a special meeting of the Board of Ed was convened Monday. The board voted to pursue the $16 million needed from the state.

The city’s portion of the project will be “contributions in kind” — the building itself, the land, and some equipment, according to Sue Weisselberg, school construction coordinator.

With a new roof, upgrades, and an addition, the building will provide an additional 214 new slots for little ones waiting to get into New Haven’s varied early-childhood learning programs. These include day care and Early Head Start that serve kids from six weeks to three years. (Head Start and the School Readiness programs serve kids three to five years old.) The programs are dispersed in schools, rented space, and in slots provided by sub-contractors throughout the city.

All told, New Haven has approximately 2,500 kids in these pre-school activities, the largest such program of any district in the state.

But there’s a waiting list, which is why in effect the state came courting on the BOE to increase slots. In the words of Sue Weisselberg (pictured), it is a “win-win.” The Board of Ed considered the resolution for about a second, then said, in effect, “I do.”

Universal access to pre-school, said BOE member Frances Padilla, is high on the list of priorities of the state commissioner of education, which is one reason why the state came calling. The inviting entity is the Connecticut Health Education Facilities Authority (CHEFA), which has some $80 million set aside to increase access.

Weisselberg said New Haven had never applied to this entity and in effect has been invited. CHEFA officials have visited the MLK school and have been very encouraging.

“It’s an ideal setting,” said Weisselberg, “because it’s a big site, 5.5 acres, there’s lots of green possibilities, and, most importantly, it’s in an area underserved by day care services.”

Padilla (pictured) and BOE member Michael Nast expressed concerns about the cost of additional staffing. Clark and Weisselberg expressed confidence that funding in the School Readiness budget of the BOE would cover all that, so that, in effect, this school construction project would put no additional burden on the taxpayer.

The school currently houses a small middle-school population, from the Intermediate Learning Academy. They’re not happy there, said Weisselberg, because the school was built as an elementary and has no gym; so the current school population will be untroubled about relocating, making room for the little ones.

Will Clark, the BOE’s chief operating officer, called it a good marriage, because some 125 kids currently in the Early Child Learning Center at 495 Blake Street could be moved in, along with, perhaps the Early Childhood Assessment Team, currently housed at High School in the Community.

The consolidation would mean the BOE would save bucks getting out from under the lease at 495 Blake; there would be economies of scale and staff. In short, what he called a “good marriage” at 580 Dixwell Ave., where the MLK School is located.

Richard Abbatiello, a BOE member and chair of the Administration and Finance Committee that approved the plan a half-hour before the full board approved, said, “We must be doing something right when the state comes to us with a kind of gift.”

Weisselberg called it “something a little different,” and an exciting project, mainly because it will serve lots of kids. The number of new slots available will, she suggested, will by no means exhaust the waiting list, but it will help.

Weisselberg said she expects to hear if the application is approved by June. Construction should be begin in the spring and summer of 2009, with move as early as December, 2009.

Will those large portraits of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders be retained on the façade? Sue Weisselberg said she wasn’t sure, but that the school means a lot to the community. As with all projects, a committee will be formed, and community input solicited.

“The two local alders,” she added, “Katrina Jones and Charles Blango are behind it.”

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