Wilder
The committee initially was charged with developing a recommendation by December, but the Hartford School Board voted last week to extend that deadline to June 30.
The Wilder School houses the Regional Alternative Program, which teaches about 30 students with behavioral issues from throughout the Upper Valley.
In 2016, the School Board considered, but rejected, a $5 million renovation bond that would have folded Hartford’s Autism Regional Program into the building, and addressed various physical problems such as an old roof, code-deficient doors, a failure to comply with federal accessibility standards, and poorly configured classroom space. The two-story brick building on Norwich Avenue in Wilder was built in 1912.
Earlier this year, the School Board moved forward with a $275,000 project to remove asbestos, replace the unreliable heating system and reroute heat away from exposed radiators.
When the School Board first authorized the creation of the Wilder School Building Committee, members expressed a desire to bring a proposal before Town Meeting voters in March 2018, but in recent months, with the committee members yet to be identified, it became clear that the timeline was no longer feasible.
Superintendent Tom DeBalsi has put out a call for people interested in filling three citizen slots on the seven-member committee, which will be rounded out by a School Board member, a collaborative board member, a staff member, and DeBalsi. The School Board has specified that the public members should “have professional design acquisition experience,” and those interested are asked to contact DeBalsi at debalsit@hartfordschools.net.
The committee is charged with reviewing existing documents related to the two programs, identifying their space needs, bringing proposed budgets and conceptual sketches to the public, and developing and articulating an argument for a bond.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.