This message is not intended to advocate but rather inform the public.
On November 5, 2024, a referendum question will appear on the voting materials. This question was approved by the Town Council. Below is the question.
Shall the $142,375,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning, design and construction of a new Hillcrest Middle School be approved?
The true cost to Trumbull taxpayers will be approximately $82 million. The taxpayers are fortunate to have elected officials who put forward a piece of legislation that increased our reimbursement rate from 24.29% to 44% for this year only. This means the Town will be reimbursed about
$60 million, leaving a cost to taxpayers of approximately $82 million over 20 years. And yes, $82 million is still a lot of money.
The current Hillcrest Middle School building was built in 1967 and has never been updated. The educational spaces were not built for 21st learning and, therefore, lack flexible learning spaces, updated science labs, an auditorium or enhanced indoor air quality. While the building has served the community well, Hillcrest is the only school in town without a fire sprinkler system and the pool was rendered useless because of significant leaks that are too significant to fix. The Master Plan has identified Hillcrest Middle School as the school with both the worst physical conditions and the least conducive to strong academic programming. This has nothing to do with the staff or the maintenance of the building which are top-notch!
You may wonder how we got to this point of a referendum for a new Hillcrest building.
This work started two years ago when the decision was made at the Town and BOE level to fund a review of all the school buildings in Trumbull and develop a Master Plan for our schools. This led to four community conversations and a concentrated look at the needs of every school building in town. To learn more about the development of the Master Plan please head over to our webpage on the Master Plan.
On Wednesday, September 25, there will be a presentation at Hillcrest Middle School in the Cafetorium about the project. The presentation will begin at 7 PM and will be recorded and placed on our website within a few days of the meeting. The link below brings you to a flyer for the event!
I simply ask that you be aware of the referendum vote and the facts about the project. I hope that you will take the time to vote in the upcoming election.