In a commentary that also appears in the CT Post, Mayor Bill Finch urges the Board of Education to approve Boston Avenue property owned by General Electric as the new site of construction to replace Harding High School “instead of allowing a handful of obstructionists to play politics with the future and well-being of our children.” The Connecticut Working Families Party that controls many votes on the school board opposes the location claiming environmental concerns with the former site of a munitions factory. The mayor writes the school site will be cleaned to residential standards, adding “The committee chair allowed a small group of political operatives with ulterior motives to derail the process with innuendo and rhetoric and in some cases, completely inaccurate information.” Commentary follows:
The students and parents of the East Side and East End communities deserve a replacement for Harding High School. For nearly two decades, Harding has been in major disrepair. All possibilities to repair and renovate the current building have been exhausted. There is no alternative to new construction.
Two previous administrations have received grants from the State to build a replacement for Harding High School. Neither of these attempts came to fruition, and the grant money had to be returned to the State, due to the lack of a suitable location. In consultation with the Board of Education and the Superintendent’s Office, my administration successfully applied for a third grant to bring about a much-needed replacement for Harding.
The best suited location for the replacement is on the former General Electric site on Boston Avenue and Bond Street. The school site is being remediated to residential standards–the cleanest standards, with GE bearing the brunt of the cost. Once the site is remediated, GE will donate this land to the City.
This location was selected after a comprehensive review of available sites by the School Building Committee, upon which sit multiple representatives from the Board of Education. The GE site is the only site that is of adequate size to accommodate a modern campus, featuring a state-of-the-art athletic complex. The GE site is also just a quarter-mile away from the current site and centrally located in the school population catchment area. This is in line with one of our highest priorities for identifying a location for the Harding replacement–ensuring that we do not disrupt the school community.
Superintendent Vallas met with Harding High School parents and the Harding High School community as a whole several times. The City and the Board of Education listened to their concerns and have had experts available to answer all of their questions. These conversations with the community have been overwhelmingly positive. Another community meeting was scheduled for late January of this year but was cancelled by the Board of Education for no apparent reason.
Parents of the East Side and East End are enthusiastic about an opportunity to see a brand new, state-of-the-art school offering a modern campus which includes playing fields and community rooms that will be accessible to the neighborhood. This new campus will be on par with Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Campus, the newly opened high school in the North End. Along with access to the playing fields, the new campus will also be a significant improvement to the Mill Hill neighborhood.
This project has met many benchmarks. The schematic design and testing results of the site were brought to the School Building Committee and approved. The site was subsequently approved by the State Bureau of School Facilities in Hartford. We are now moving forward with Phase 1 of the site plan, which is currently before the Facilities Committee of the Board of Education.
As a parent of Bridgeport Public School students who live in the Harding High School catchment area, I too share the concerns that any parent would have when building a high school on a former industrial site.
The Facilities Committee meeting on Tuesday night was supposed to be an opportunity for the experts who are working on this project as well as representatives from the State’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to deliver the facts and present the plan that clearly shows that this school campus would be absolutely safe for students and teachers. Unfortunately, this is not what occurred. The committee chair allowed a small group of political operatives with ulterior motives to derail the process with innuendo and rhetoric and in some cases, completely inaccurate information.
I understand and respect the Board’s responsibility and authority. I encourage them to fully review the facts and move this project forward instead of allowing a handful of obstructionists to play politics with the future and well-being of our children. As a parent and our city’s leader, nothing is more important to me than the safety and well-being of our students. I am certain that this school will provide both a completely safe and innovative learning environment that the children of the East Side and East End deserve.
Hey Bill, what other sites were considered by the school building committee? The public doesn’t know the alternatives. BTW Mr. Mayor, you’re so hot to trot for Harding why not the same enthusiasm for building a new Bassick High School? Yes I know they are getting a remodel but they will still be in the same dump, no up-to-date athletic fields, no after-school rooms etc. I hate to raise this but if I were a leader in the Hispanic community I would be asking you WHY Harding and not Bassick?
Could it be you are anxious to kiss Bridgeport Hospital’s ass and sell them Harding’s property for peanuts?
The Hispanic leaders are leaving it up to the African American community. If it were up to me, I would fix Harding. Our Mayor loves to play the race card. He names the new school Obama and that makes every wrong right. I ask, what has the President done for Bridgeport? Nothing!
I read of a planning grant for a new high school but never heard there is actually state money to build a new high school in Bridgeport. Can anyone tell us where the money is coming from for the proposed high school?
Baffled, the money is in place for a high school to replace Harding confirmed by state budget director, members of the city’s legislative delegation and State Board of Education. The money has been grandfathered in on an 80-20 state-city funding arrangement. Future arrangements call for a 60-40 split, so the city is up against a timetable to make this happen. Former school board president Max Medina also confirmed the money was in place years ago, but city leadership could not settle on a location for a new Harding, and/or it was not a priority. This was before GE stepped up to offer property.
if Bridgeport ever wants to continue the sweet treatment from the state it is getting now, it may as well milk it while it can. The Governor feels he needs to get the Bridgeport vote because of what happened during the last presidential election, but that was a presidential election, this time around Bridgeport is not going to turn out the same number of voters so good luck. Bridgeport, milk it while you can because CT is dominated by suburban voters.
I agree with the Mayor 100 percent. The idea anyone would be against this plan just baffles me. Mayor Finch, keep fighting for this one. If the school were renamed to honor Barack Obama that would be even more exciting. That is pretty much all I have to say on this subject. Even North End residents and former Harding graduates are very excited.
There are many once-contaminated sites across the country that have been cleaned up and put back to use. It is done all the time, said Jay Pendergrass, co-director of the Brownfields Center and Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C.
“It comes up a fair amount, Pendergrass said. “It probably is not even uncommon.”
Costly remediation
In Connecticut there have been a handful of situations where DEEP has required corrective action plans on school sites, Bell said. Most have been put in place after the school was there.
One is Greenwich High School, where soil contaminated with polychlorinated-biphenyls, or PCBs, and other dangerous toxins were found after a backhoe operator noticed oily dirt while digging a trench for a new Music Instructional Space and Auditorium project. The discovery shocked and angered parents and forced the temporary closure of athletic fields. Health officials eventually concluded the area was safe to use and the fields were reopened.
School officials there now face up to $146 million in cleanup costs and the building project is on hold. The contaminated area, encompassing over 11 acres, had been dug and probed numerous times over the last 40 years as athletic fields were built and rebuilt and other improvements were made to the school campus, which opened in 1970. Despite all that work, however, no contamination had previously been found.
At Longfellow School in Bridgeport, contaminated soil was discovered just prior to construction work a year ago. Students from Longfellow have been scattered throughout the district so the school, built in 1958, can be torn down and rebuilt. That situation haunts officials like City Council member M. Evette Brantley, who described having to meet with parents of children with chronic ailments who went to that school.
www .ctpost.com/default/article/Toxins-aside-former-GE-site-slated-for-new-high-4615224.php
Steve, you agree with the mayor? What a shock, I am so surprised. Let’s not get all warm and fuzzy about naming this school after Obama. Why name a school after a do-nothing president?
One more thing to all on this blog, WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS WHO ATTEND BASSICK HIGH SCHOOL? It seems we are throwing them to the curb. Where the hell are the leaders in the Hispanic community? What say you, Steve?
Andy, I had spent a year at Bassick High School two years ago. Bassick is the Taj Mahal compared to Harding. The school could use upgrading, like central air conditioning. It is unbearable on the third floor. The classrooms are clean. The school is well maintained. The students and teachers do not appear to be suffering from low self esteem as in Harding. The auditorium though dated is beautiful, the gymnasium and lunchroom are nice, clean and inviting. Do I really need to go on, Andy? Harding is old and poorly maintained. The free classrooms I had been in were awful, antiquated and a poor learning environment. The students and teachers deserve better. The school being taken over by Bridgeport Hospital is brilliant in turning a great hospital into a better running facility that is also a boon to the neighborhood. Andy, we need to move into the 21st century. My agreeing with the Mayor on this issue should not be a shock to anyone on this blog or the general public. The new school and hospital expansion is a win-win for Bridgeport. The GE site is also a Gateway to Bridgeport. Our city would be wise to improve all the gateways into Bridgeport. First impressions apply to everything. Anyone who cares about the future of our city, whether a resident or future politician, should get on the bus or get out of the way. Bridgeport has 50 years of poor economic development to make up for. Improvements to educational facilities are as important as landing a landmark headquarters to Steelepointe on the water off 95 we are still incapable of doing because there is no focus, passion or belief Bridgeport’s better days are just around the corner. If I were Mayor Finch, I would be talking to his economic development appointments and asking, “what is your commitment to Bridgeport?”
Steve, you had better revisit Bassick High school, there are many teachers and students who disagree with you 100%. BTW Bassick has no athletic fields and no meeting rooms and it is almost as old as Harding. As far as the new Harding being the gateway to Bridgeport, that’s being dramatic.
Look, I have no problem with a new High School but I have a problem with not knowing what other sites were considered by the school building committee. I also have a problem with taking 37 acres of industrially zoned property off the tax rolls, even vacant they give us more taxes than Bridgeport Hospital. How is Bridgeport Hospital taking over the Harding property a boon to the neighborhood? Please don’t start with jobs, the only jobs we get are cleanup jobs.
Steve, what is wrong with tearing down Harding and building a new school on the same site? We are doing that at Roosevelt and at Longfellow.
Can you name five students and teachers who have a problem with Bassick as opposed to 500 at Harding? Bassick also has an attractive well-appointed library. I agree they are lacking a football field. Seaside Park and Central as well as Harding are just a five-minute bus ride away. There is not enough available property in the immediate area to compensate for a school and ball park in the immediate area and finally, we are talking HARDING, first things first.
Steve, I can name them but won’t do it here. It’s easy for you to say Bassick can use Went Field and Seaside Park; that’s BS and you know it. You are right, we are talking Harding and why aren’t we talking Bassick? More importantly why are we not talking about the curriculum that will be taught at Harding, if it’s the same old crap they are teaching now then a new school building won’t change anything. Why isn’t anyone talking about what will be happening in the new Harding?
Come on Andy, there will be a great sense of Pride in the new Barack H. Obama High School. It will be modern, state of the art and will be named after a President most students and teachers can relate to. Do-nothing President? Really Andy, the history books will definitely tell a different story. Ted Nugent speaks for the anti-Obama people. Get on his train. He couldn’t sound any more ignorant, racist and pathetic. He is the new poster child for the Republican party. Obama and Bernake saved the economy from George Bush with their stimulus proposals, ending two wars, saving the auto industry, implementing a health plan that will eventually succeed, supporting gay marriage before the election, always championing women’s rights, attempting to end discrimination in the workplace, equal pay for women, I could go on and on but bottom line, there has not been anything from opposing party’s attempt to improve the quality of life for anyone, just 43 attempts to repeal Obamacare. Change is difficult, especially for people over 65. Obama will go down in history as a forward-thinking President and it would be an honor to have one of our HIgh Schools named after him.
*** LET’S LOOK AT THE CLEANUP SITE INFO AND PLANS AND NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR A SECOND OPINION IF NEEDED, ALL WHILE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER POSSIBLE LOCATION IF NEED BE! *** OPEN MINDS HELP CREATE PROGRESS! ***
Steve, you have managed to insult me and people my age several times in this latest post. First, you are the racist for suggesting anyone who does not like Obama follows Ted Nugent. According to the latest polls over 50% disagree with his policies. What three wars did he stop? In case you didn’t know it, Afghanistan is still ongoing. Bailout plan just expanded the national debt, the bailout worked for the banks, how did that help us? He implemented a health care plan no one understands and will cost people a lot of money, he also stated people would get to keep their health care plans, another lie. BTW there are already laws on the books that speak to discrimination and equal pay for equal work for women. Obama had nothing to do with passing those laws. BTW Steve unfortunately I have had to visit two doctors’ offices and in both pasted on the receptionist window were signs that said “WE DO NOT ACCEPT OBAMACARE INSURANCE.”
BTW before you call anyone a racist who disagrees with you politically you should know their history and how they lived their lives.
Andy, please do not take my comment as an insult, but if you do–Get over it! Your disrespect for the President of the United States is embarrassing at best. I didn’t say three wars, I said two. Your doctor’s office said we do not accept Obamacare with signs posted all over the office??? PLEASE NAME ME ONE DOCTOR’S OFFICE WITH THAT SIGN. ON CONNECTICUT ACCESS I SAW AT LEAST 10 DIFFERENT ANTHEM PROGRAMS AS WELL AS CONNECTICARE. I DID NOT SEE ONE PROGRAM CALLED OBAMACARE. WHAT IS THAT? IT IS AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE AND ON ACCESS CONNECTICUT I DIDN’T SEE THAT OPTION. IT IS A KNOWN FACT ANDY, INDIVIDUALS OVER 65 HAVE A HARD TIME WITH CHANGE. THAT IS WHY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY REPRESENTS AS ITS MAJORITY WHITE, OVER 65 EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS. IT IS SORT OF LIKE WITH MUSIC, IF YOU STOP LISTENING TO NEW CONTEMPORARY STARS AND STILL PREFER DORIS DAY AND FRANK SINATRA AND HAVE NO IDEA WHO RHIANNA, BRUNO MARS, ADELE AND LIL KIM, THAN YOU HAVE REACHED THAT POINT OF BEING STUCK IN A GENERATION THAT CANNOT ACCEPT CHANGE. I RESPECT AND ADMIRE THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD, OUR PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA AND CLEARLY YOU DO NOT. WE ACCEPT THAT AND MOVE ON. IN RUSSIA YOU’D BE ARRESTED WITH THE HOMOSEXUALS AND SEE LIFE THROUGH DIFFERENT EYES.
Listen Steve, enough of your veiled nastiness. Because I don’t care for him does not mean I would not follow his laws and if I were in the military I would follow his orders. He is the president. Your problem is you believe everything a Democratic politician says.
I will not give you the name of the doctors where the sign is posted. I will tell you the office is in Fairfield on Beach Dr.
Steve, who told you the singers you listed could sing?
Steve, just in case you did not know it Obama’s job rating is below 50%. Are all these people nuts also?
How did I get lumped in with the homosexuals in Russia? I have seen life from its lowest form to its highest form. It’s you who needs to take off the rose-colored glasses. BTW, stop bashing seniors.
Andy, I do not bash seniors. I volunteer over 20 hours a week working with seniors and Alzheimer’s patients at the Jewish Home. OF which just for the record most are not Jewish. You may try to put me in a negative light but it will not work. Give Obama another few weeks. His numbers are rising in the polls, not that he cares, he is not running for anything. I understand you are disgruntled. You voted for Mitt Romney. I get it. It is clear Andy when your candidate loses you hold a grudge against the winner and keep the grudge for their entire candidacy. You must be terribly miserable with Obama and Finch. Stop being so sensitive. YOU MOST LIKELY WILL NOT SEE ONE OF YOUR candidates FOR A VERY VERY VERY long time. Step whining, this is a blog. I didn’t mean to insult you or put you together with the gays in Russia. My point was how bold and disrespectful we are here in the United States. In Russia you’d be thrown in jail for your anti-Putin rant and be amongst the gays who you know–were promoting their pedophilia. lolololololol. Ignorance is a very sad thing. Thank G-d for America.
*** If in fact the object of the new powers that be on the BOE is to be “political obstructionists” towards anything good or bad that is put forward by the School’s admin system or the Finch Admin, then Bpt’s school system will continue to be in big trouble as usual with things going from bad to worse! In that aspect then Mayor Finch’s comments would be right on now and later. *** LET’S HOPE NOT ***
What’s the matter Steve, don’t like your writings being exposed? Let’s talk about my anti-Obama feelings, you compare them to what would happen if I lived in Russia. Well that’s just so much bullshit. I live in America and paid my dues to live here, how about you?
Then you stated the following about my generation REACHED THAT POINT OF BEING STUCK IN A GENERATION THAT CANNOT ACCEPT CHANGE. Quite the contrary about being miserable about my not voting for Finch and Obama. My voting against these two losers shows me I was right to vote against them.
Steve. look out the window and you will see trees filled with candy and jewels. Turn on your TV and you will see the same thing. It must be tough living in a sugarcoated world. It must be tougher living in a world with leaders you elected only to find out they are failures.
Andy, Andy, Andy. There is a Jewish term I’d like to share with you. HOCH MININISHCA CHINIK. It means exactly what it sounds like. It’s like being in an 8th-grade classroom with 30 students banging on pots and pans incessantly for 30 minutes. That’s what you’re doing to me.
I respect you Andy and I am just pressing your buttons. I get plenty of practice as I seem to be defending politicians on a regular basis. Let’s compromise, you stop killing Obama and I’ll let Finch’s paid associates blow smoke up his ass. As you know, I stand by my convictions.
I don’t consider what I said as killing Obama, just because I don’t want the new high school named after him. I know he is the president of all Americans.
As far as Finch goes, I will never stop talking about him. When and if he ever does anything good for Bridgeport, I will speak about that also.
Just one more lie from Finch; there NEVER was a search done by the school buildings committee. GE gave the city the property free of charge. This information came from two members of the building committee.