Bridgeport Military Academy seeks a permanent home; district says multiple contingency plans and a bill is pending

A faculty member for Bridgeport Military Academy told the ad hoc committee the school has not had a stable single campus this year and urged the district to secure a comparable, permanent facility for next year.

"We have not been spoken to by anyone since September regarding where our school will be located next year," said Luis, a faculty member at the academy and delegate to the Bridgeport Education Association, describing disruptions that forced teachers to move classrooms and materials multiple times.

District presenters said the facilities master plan includes a proposal for a new Bridgeport Military Academy and that the district has contingency plans while staff pursue funding and approvals. The presenter said the proposed permanent site appears within a package of priority construction projects that also includes a Park City magnet campus.

Staff also told the committee they are monitoring a bill in the state legislature related to the school's situation. "The bill has passed the House; it's at the Senate right now," the presenter said, and staff said the state Department of Education is aware and engaged on the issue. Board members and staff discussed swing-space constraints — the district's limited ability to house large numbers of students temporarily during construction — and said building a permanent facility would likely take several years even if funding were obtained.

The committee asked the superintendent and cabinet to follow up and provide additional updates to staff and the board; staff said they will continue to pursue multiple options to avoid a gap in space for the academy and to protect academic continuity for students.