Board reviews educational specifications to pursue Waterbury Preschool Center grant

The Waterbury Board of Education on Thursday reviewed educational specifications for a proposed Waterbury Preschool Center so the district can apply for state school construction funding.

The specs presented to the board describe a conceptual preschool facility with 25 classrooms, multiple sensory rooms, occupational- and physical-therapy space and a play area sized for preschool use. District staff emphasized that approval of the educational specifications is a permissive step to enable an application to the Department of Administrative Services and does not finalize a building location or budget.

"We are asking you to approve the building specs just to be able to apply," said a district official (speaker S7), who explained that final decisions about sites, floor plans and furniture/fixtures/equipment will evolve during design and after further feedback from teachers and clinicians. Nick Albini (speaker S14), who moderated the building-committee discussion, said the district must submit an application by June 30 to be considered this cycle.

Board members asked whether teachers’ and paraeducators’ needs had been reflected in the specs. "Amy Sims was the principal who really helped lead a lot of the ed specs and designs," a district spokesperson noted, saying teacher input would continue during design and site work.

The board approved the educational specifications during a subsequent motion in the special meeting portion of the session so the district can present the package to the Board of Aldermen and pursue bonding and DAS review. The board reserved final design approvals and construction authorization for future votes.

What happens next: if the Board of Aldermen passes related resolutions and bonding, the district will submit the application to DAS. The timeline presented by staff assumes further design work and a multi-year construction process if the project is funded.