Renovation Project Spurs Summer-Long Closures at Several Old Lyme Schools

LYME-OLD LYME—Region 18 Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser today announced the renovation project affecting four of the district’s five schools will result in widespread closures for two months this summer. 

In a letter to parents, Neviaser said Center School, Mile Creek School and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School will be closed and inaccessible from June 23 to August 22, 2025, including the playgrounds and fields. Staff from those schools will be moved to the high school. 

At Lyme Consolidated School, the playground, tennis courts, and playing field will remain open. Staff will be relocated within the building. 

Neviaser in a Tuesday email said the decision was made to ensure the district remains on schedule to finish heating and ventilation projects by Dec. 25. 

He said officials anticipated some sort of closure during the summer, but decided within the last two months exactly how it would be structured. 

He said alternatives, including remaining in the buildings while working around construction, were considered but were “far more costly, complicated, and time consuming.”

Administrators, office staff, and custodial and maintenance employees will continue working this summer, according to Neviaser. They will be available at the high school and all phone numbers and emails will remain the same.

“Although this is highly inconvenient, it is essential to keep the PK-8 projects on schedule and ensure a safe and enhanced learning environment for the upcoming school year,” Neviaser told parents. 

Parks and Recreation Department Director Don Bugbee said the town’s day camp program will operate out of the high school as it has for the past several years.

The program’s 280 campers will continue to use the gym and fields, according to Bugbee. He said the auditorium might not be available to them.

“It’s going to be crowded in the building with everything being there,” he said.

He said basketball and volleyball camps typically held in the middle school gym were put on pause this summer.

The renovation project involves HVAC and security upgrades in the four buildings, plus the addition of new classrooms at Mile Creek School. Voters in late 2022 authorized spending up to $57.5 million on the project, though the district will save about $17 million due to grant funding and lower than expected interest rates.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with information from Bugbee.