The town of Brookfield, Conn., has scheduled an updated move-in date for its new elementary school after completion of the construction project was stalled for months by supply chain issues.
With the Candlewood Lake Elementary School (CLES) now slated to be finished in late May or early June in 2023, the plan is to move students and staff into the new 139,000-sq.-ft. facility next fall for the new school year.
The new facility, which will accommodate more than 1,000 students and 200 staff, was expected to be complete by the end of this month, with students and staff starting the move-in process by early January. But material delays have pushed back those plans, school officials told CT Insider.
The online news service reported Dec. 18 that a driving factor behind the delays stems from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing earlier this year by a company that was supplying the school's flooring, which forced the school district to find another flooring manufacturer for the $78.1 million project.
As Brookfield's Municipal Building Committee Chair Paul Checco explained two months ago to CT Insider, the loss of the supplier created a "ripple effect" in the market, as other manufacturers experienced increased demand, making it difficult to predict when the flooring would be ready for installation.
After learning that a lack of flooring material availability would cause a delay in the initial move-in date at the new elementary school, the district awaited word from the school project's contractor, O&G Construction in Torrington, Conn., before learning that the date was pushed back several months.
As a result, Brookfield school district leaders have decided to no longer pursue a phased-in approach in which the Huckleberry Hill Elementary students and staff would have moved next month.
"We have concluded that the best schedule for all involved would be to have a single move into CLES at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year," Superintendent John Barile, current Huckleberry Hill principal and future Candlewood Lake Elementary principal David Pepsoski, along with Brookfield Board of Education Chair Robert Belden announced in a Dec. 15 statement.
The Candlewood Lake Elementary School project has been plagued with delays, according to CT Insider. In November 2021, school officials announced three- to four-month delays in the delivery of essential roofing materials for the project.
School Big Enough for All Students Up Through 5th Grade
The new facility in the community of Brookfield, with a population of about 17,500, will accommodate all pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students in town — including those fifth graders and staff at Whisconier Elementary School currently using portable classrooms.
It is being constructed on the grounds of the existing Huckleberry Hill School.
Despite the delays for Candlewood Lake Elementary School, Barile, Pepsoski, and Belden all noted there is some good news.
"We are able to stay on the original plan that the [town's] entire pre-K through 5th grade [classes] will be in the new school together to start the 2023-24 school year on Sept. 5, right after Labor Day," the Brookfield education leaders said in their Dec. 15 letter. "This provides us with the opportunity to become one school community together, at the same time, as originally envisioned when CLES opens its doors."
The district said it plans to provide information to the community on the transition planning process throughout the winter and spring.
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