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A new school building will replace the existing Norwalk High School and be built on the same campus. Classes will be held at the current building until the new building is ready, or parts of it said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. He made an announcement about the four-year project last week, along with city and school officials.
The community response has supported the project, according to Duff. "So far, outside of a vocal few, the response has been overwhelmingly positive," he told Daily Voice Plus.
The construction plan calls for the design and architecture phase to take a year, while construction will take three years. The new 337,000-square-foot facility will have three educational programs accommodating a total of 2,000 students.
In addition to the 1000-student population of Norwalk High School, the campus will additionally support P-TECH Norwalk, formerly referred to as the Norwalk Early College Academy, while expanding its enrollment from 400 to 500 students. The 500-student Norwalk Visual and Performing Arts Academy will also be included in the new campus.
Due to the large state reimbursement, Norwalk will be able to build a new Norwalk High School and continue all the planned school facility projects without missing a step, according to Duff.
"We anticipate one year of design/architecture and three years of construction. The new school will be built in phases on the same campus as the current high school, and we don’t anticipate needing any portable classrooms," he said.
"I appreciate the work of the mayor, his team, the superintendent, his team, Governor Lamont, his team and everyone who was involved leading up to this announcement."
"The state will pay for 80 percent of the cost -- saving taxpayers about $100 million. That beats the normal reimbursement rate of 32.5 percent," Duff said.
The senator said there will be updates "as the project moves through the local and state processes."
"This is a game-changer for Norwalk educators, families, and students," Duff said.
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