Maya McFadden File Photo
Yahya, Rayyan, and Amira staying cool last July in Hillhouse's pool.
The school district plans to open only two of its five pools to the public this summer, as needed repairs keep the other three closed.
New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) spokesperson Justin Harmon provided that update to the Independent as the school district and city continue to work out their annual open-swim partnership, which allows New Haveners to swim in public pools throughout July.
Harmon stated that NHPS expects for the pools at Hillhouse High School at 480 Sherman Pkwy. and John S. Martinez School at 100 James St. to be open this summer.
Open swim this year will kick off on June 23. The Hillhouse and Martinez pools will be open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
The pools at Conte West, Wilbur Cross, and Career, meanwhile, will likely be closed this summer.
Harmon noted that Conte West Hills Magnet School’s pool needs a new filtration system and Wilbur Cross High School’s pool needs major repairs. Neither Conte nor Cross’s pool repairs have an identified funding source, Harmon said.
The district’s fifth pool is at Hill Regional Career High School. Schools facilities management contractor ABM identified a variety of maintenance concerns for Career’s pool, including new needed construction and electrical upgrades, in an April pools maintenance report (see below).
Meanwhile, at Monday’s most recent Board of Education Finance and Operations Committee meeting, school board committee members voted in favor of sending several resolutions to the full Board of Education with the goal of granting district leaders approval to apply for and accept a non-priority grant from the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services Office of School Construction Grant Review (CTDAS/OSCGR).
Two of the resolutions are for addressing the repairs needed for the pools at Conte and Cross. Others involve, for example, building out new central office space for NHPS at the city-owned building at 424 Chapel.
If approved, the school construction grants would fund the following projects:
• Construction of central office at 424 Chapel St. The total cost of the project is $8,812,913 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $2,832,470.
• Replacement of the swimming pool at Conte-West School. The total cost of the project is $1,200,000 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $385,680.
• Replacement of roof at Truman School. The total cost of the project is $2,800,000 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $899,920.
• Replacement of the roof at Wilbur Cross High School. The total cost of the project is $5,600,000 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $1,799,840.
• Replacement of swimming pool at Wilbur Cross High School. The total cost of the project is $2,300,000 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $739,220.
• Replacement of the roof at James Hillhouse High School. The total cost of the project is $4,400,000 and the cost share (32.14 percent) for the Board of Education is $1,414,000.
That would leave a total anticipated cost of approximately $8,071,130 for the district’s capital funds after the grant reimbursement.
The resolutions also included the committee’s approval for an undisclosed expenditure to Silver Petruccelli Architects to “create the schematics and assist in the application process as is required by the State Department of Administrative Services,” which was noted in an April 14 memo from Central Office Business Director Christine Bourne.
An April report from ABM pool maintenance needs.