TOP STORY: Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Welcome Back Students, Spirits High Despite ‘Temporary Upheaval’ of Construction

OLD LYME–Preschool teacher Kinny Newman early this week sat at her desk in a Center School classroom preparing for the start of school on Wednesday.

Newman, surrounded by rows of signature fern plants, reviewed a class list with instructional assistants Jennifer Martin and Sakura Gemme. 

Six students on the roster were siblings of previous students, according to the teacher. 

“It makes it all really real when you read their names,” she said. “And then you get really excited about it.” 

Newman said the ongoing renovation project to update the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in the building – as well as three other schools in the district – slowed down classroom preparations, but she predicted the latest crop of preschool students wouldn’t be bothered by the temporary upheaval. 

“They’re resilient. We’re resilient. We’ll figure it out,” she said. 

The staff members were working on a tighter timeframe than usual because the renovation project had closed the doors of Center School, Mile Creek and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School for most of the summer. Operations at Lyme Consolidated School during the same timeframe were condensed as staff members relocated within the building. 

Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, said on Monday that the contents of all the classrooms were emptied into the auditorium for summertime storage while crews abated the building’s original ceilings of hazardous components. 

The previous Friday was the first day teachers could get into their classrooms, he said. The crunch to prepare for Wednesday’s opening had teachers, assistants and cleaning crews working throughout the weekend. 

“Normally, our teachers come back early and set up their classrooms – and many of them come in long before they’re required to be here,” he said. “They didn’t have that option this summer.” 

In Newman’s classroom, spirits were high after all the hours put in over the weekend left the women in a good position to be ready on time. 

“We’re not quite finished yet,” Newman warned. “I have a whole reading tent coming from Amazon.”

The renovation project involves upgrades to the HVAC and security systems in the four buildings, plus an addition and an expanded parking area 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.

The most noticeable changes to the schools will be seen in the front vestibules that welcome students on Wednesday, according to Neviaser. He said security changes made as a “retrofit” following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting more than 10 years ago have been overhauled to align with state requirements for new construction. 

“These are more modern,” he said of the new doors and windows. “They are both blastproof and bulletproof, and allow us to monitor the comings and goings of visitors more easily due to increased visibility.”

With work at Center School, Lyme Consolidated and the middle school expected to be completed by the new year, he said the project at Mile Creek will extend for about a year and a half. 

Parents hoping for improved traffic flow due to the expansion will find themselves disappointed because the pickup and dropoff area is not slated to be reconfigured until next summer. 

“So this year the traffic flow is probably going to be about the same as it was in the past,” he said. 

He said the school added a preschool class at Lyme Consolidated after a new state law required students to be five-years-old by Sept. 1 to start kindergarten, resulting in fewer kindergarteners and more preschoolers. Officials condensed four kindergarten classrooms, which were evenly spread between Lyme Consolidated and Mile Creek, into three while moving a Lyme Consolidated kindergarten teacher to the preschool level. Preschool classrooms are traditionally in Center School. 

Neviaser this month emphasized at a Region 18 Board of Education meeting that Lyme Consolidated will house a preschool class for one year only because the shift promises to reverse itself when this year’s four-year-old cohort enters kindergarten next year. 

“So that’s new and unique,” the superintendent said from the school Monday as he prepared for the new school year. “And then we will be living through construction for a few more months.”

Fire Marshal Dave Roberge, in an email to Neviaser shared with the Region 18 PreK-8 Building Committee, acknowledged construction is ongoing. Roberge said he found the buildings are in compliance with fire detection, notification and evacuation requirements, and he will continue to monitor the situation as construction continues.