TOP STORY-UPDATED: First Day of School Unchanged Amid Lyme-Old Lyme Renovation Project

This photo taken Friday, Aug. 15, shows the new base coat on the driveway at Mile Creek School that was applied on Wednesday. LymeLine photo.

LYME/OLD LYME–UPDATED 8/16 with new photo of driveway (above.) Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Ian Neviaser on Thursday said he’s more confident than ever that schools will reopen on time now that an intensive summertime push is winding down on the $57.5 million renovation project affecting four of the district’s five buildings.

Neviaser in a phone interview said crews overseen by Downes Construction were working double shifts this summer to ensure Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, Mile Creek School, Lyme Consolidated School and Center School would be ready for the first day of school on Aug. 27.

Work at three of the schools will shift to the night once school starts, he said. For Mile Creek, where the most extensive upgrades are occurring, daytime work will continue.

Last week, Neviaser during a regular meeting of the Region 18 Board of Education acknowledged concerns around Lyme and Old Lyme that the district wouldn’t be able to welcome students as scheduled.

Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Ian Neviaser said Mile Creek School, which was unpaved when this photo was taken earlier this week, was paved Wednesday with a base coat that will provide a functional surface until the final coat is applied after site work is complete. Photo credit: LymeLine.

“I know there’s been some questions out there about whether or not we’ll be able to open school on time, especially if you drive by Mile Creek and you see that they have not paved the new parking lot or entranceway yet,” Neviaser told school board members.

But he reported being assured by project officials that the schools would be ready.

The prediction was bolstered by the completion of paving at Mile Creek this week, the superintendent said over the phone.

“As we get closer, I’m even more confident,” he said.

Center, Mile Creek and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School closed June 23, with Lyme-Old Lyme High School absorbing displaced staff members as well as campers in the Old Lyme Park and Recreation Department’s summer program. At Lyme Consolidated, staff members were relocated within the building.

HVAC on Track

The renovation project involves Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and security upgrades 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.

Neviaser said the buildings will be ready for teachers when they arrive for three days of professional development on Aug. 22. The majority of security upgrades to the building’s front vestibules should be done by the time students get there at the end of the month.

He said work on the HVAC system will shift to the nighttime at Center, Lyme Consolidated and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle Schools, with “substantial completion” expected by the end of this year.

“When we walk into school on August 27th, there will still be ceiling tiles down,” he said. “There will still be ductwork going on.”

Mile Creek Construction

While students will be welcomed on schedule at Mile Creek, Neviaser described the overall timeline there as “a little bit of a different story.” That’s because six classrooms are being added currently, with the pickup and dropoff area to be reconfigured next summer.

“While the majority of that project, too, was focused on HVAC – and they have continued to work on that – their intent this summer was to really try to get a lot done on the addition,” he said.

He estimated the new classrooms could be ready by January, giving administrators the space to move some other classrooms around while work on the heating and cooling system continues in the rest of the building.

The Mile Creek project likely won’t be complete until midway through the 2026-27 school year, he said.

Neviaser expressed gratitude to the neighbors of the four buildings for their patience over the summer.

He noted some construction crews this summer had to come out on Saturdays to keep the project on track at Mile Creek as they removed rock from the site.

“I know there was a lot of noise coming from the construction sites, and people were very understanding of the noise,” he said. “And we, like them, hope that it will be done soon.”