Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas told OIB on Tuesday the pieces are coming together to build a new Harding High School on the Boston Avenue property owned by General Electric that has nearly completed dismantling the massive former arms and munitions factory that gave the city the name Arsenal of Democracy built by Remington Arms in 1915.
Vallas said building a new Harding comes with much added economic value for the city. The current Harding property could serve as a health and medical sciences academy for its neighbor Bridgeport Hospital. It also provides expansion opportunities for the hospital. Vallas says a new Harding is in the design phase and a timeline for completing a new school is September 2015. The estimated cost is $78 million. The school will house 800 students in grades 9-12. The facility will include an athletic complex with full football and softball fields.
Harding opened in 1925 and its age is showing dramatically. Roughly 1200 students and a staff of more than 100 are learning and teaching under a rotting infrastructure. Estimates to rebuild the school at its current location had been roughly $50 million. The city was challenged to relocate the students while building a new school on the existing site because of so little available land elsewhere in the city. The Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet High School currently under construction, set to open for the 2013-14 school year, is expected to absorb some students from Harding.
The GE site, however, solves the land problem. Vallas says discussions with GE officials, Mayor Bill Finch, municipal leaders and state legislative decision makers has the project and funding sources tracking in the right direction. Harding, bounded by Boston, Barnum and Central Avenues, is located a few blocks from the GE land.
Vallas also shared a new twist in the Harding construction: a potential name change.
Vallas joked that naming the school for Warren G. Harding, the 29th president whose short-lived administration was marred by scandal, is “the epitome of low expectations.” Harding, a Republican who died in office in 1923 of an apparent heart attack, is generally ranked by presidential historians at the bottom of the barrel.
Board of Education member Ken Moales has his own suggestion for naming the school. How about Barack Obama High School?
Speaking in his office Tuesday afternoon, Vallas says addressing antiquated school buildings has been one of his priorities since State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor recommended his appointment about six months ago. Local and state officials have also announced funds to build a new Longfellow School in the city’s West End.
Since his time in Bridgeport Vallas says his work has focused on balancing the school budget, building a five-year budget plan, addressing school safety issues, streamlining payroll costs, implementing a textbook program and improving utilities and operational efficiency.
Vallas told OIB he hasn’t made a final decision about how long he’ll remain on the job in Bridgeport, but it could be as long as the completion of the next school year. Vallas was brought in as a turnaround professional for a permanent school chief. Vallas has led school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans.
While some bloggers protest Mr Vallas’ ideas, this blogger wishes to applaud him for the role he’s playing in Bridgeport’s economic and scholastic development. I know it’s a team effort but what a plus if it happens during his brief term. Better curricula + better buildings = lasting value.
Wow! Still new in town and Vallas has learned fast how to take credit for himself. Does he know schools are owned by the taxpayers and used by the boe? Shouldn’t it be a joint announcement with the Mayor about a new Harding and what to do with the old one? And change the name? Harding is part of the history of this city. Most students don’t know history and don’t correlate the former president with the high school. Use a failed presidency as a tool to educate. BTW, the Chicago dropout rate is 40%. What does this say about the Vallas approach to long-term school reform.
Who cares? As long as the school is built it’s progress for the city and the kids will be better for it. Go Vallas!
The last thing Finch stated was 800 Harding students were going to be sent to the new high school now being constructed at Fairchild park. That leaves 400 students at Harding.
Why are we taking a large industrial zoned property and turning it into a $78 million dollar high school?
Great, we sell the Harding property to Bpt Hospital and it stays tax free (yeah I know about pilot program). We are going to take 38-plus acres of industrially zoned property that would still be paying taxes and we take that off the tax roles. Who makes up the difference? Why the taxpayers do.
As far as Mr. Moales’ suggestion to name the new high school for Barack Obama, what a joke. What has he done the last four years? Do you want to name a school after a one-term president?
Development of the old Harding property for medical services in the economic orbit of Bridgeport Hospital is a no-brainer.
I’m waiting to see which wiseguy around here wants to take that suggestion down.
Of course, a new high school to replace an 85-year-old building will be helpful as long as everybody remembers what is really important is what happens inside the building to educate the kids. I’m not so sure Bridgeport should be ready to give up the memory of such a mediocre president as the name of the school. It seemed generally to symbolize public education in the city.
I agree with Andy on this point: the property should generally be developed as taxable real estate housing medical services.
Maybe they could make it a hydroponic medical marijuana school of agriscience and call it … I Am High!
Maybe I should change my name to Grin Reefer 😉
What a damned disgrace they took down this venerable old building. Off the tax rolls is correct. This building represented the working ethic of old Bridgeport. It only took nine months to build!
Harping on the age of an old school as a reason to take it down is ludicrous.
Now, the big boys really start making their money. Walls do not an education make. In this town education makes money for outsiders and does not really educate the kids.
I believe we need a new Harding H.S. Will all of the G.E. property be needed for this endeavor? We are speaking of approx 400 students!!! …
And the property where Harding is now is being considered for Bridgeport Hospital expansions. The hospital wants to rebuild … More tax-exempt property for Bridgeport … Does this bring the tax-exempt properties in Bridgeport to over fifty one percent? …
Enough is enough … Our State Reps need to get a greater share of PILOT tax breaks for our city. It should not be equal for the surrounding towns that exists now. Fix it .. Enough is Enough …
The exemption of real estate from taxes must be on the table in any discussion of the redevelopment of Bridgeport. It is way out of hand, and has been for decades.
That stated, development of medical services on Mill Hill is to the specific benefit of Bridgeport in terms of employment opportunities. It should also be a benefit to the city in real estate taxes. They always talk about the city as a regional hub for services. This is a prime example. An economically healthy Bridgeport Hospital is a benefit to the city and region. They need not be mutually exclusive.
The Park City should not stand for “we park it there and forget it.”
Jim, unfortunately most of the jobs that will go to people from Bridgeport will be service-oriented jobs. I know jobs are important, but so are taxes. Bridgeport hospital has bought a lot of property around Seaview Ave and Williston St along with properties around the hospital. I don’t know if these purchases are still being taxed or not but they should be.
It’s time for large entities like the two hospitals and UB along with other non-profits to start paying their fair share in taxes.
Andy,
Isn’t it great to have people talking about Bridgeport and money? When the tax bills hit the mailboxes very shortly, more people may be willing to talk about it.
It is interesting it makes no difference for an entity that has a tax-free status at some level where they locate, but they are indifferent to the fact that Bridgeport has a high mil rate and that would otherwise mean more expense for them. Of course a high mil rate translates into properties having a lower market value all things being equal (which they seldom are) and that might make for better affordability for cash-strapped non-profits.
Maybe we should have a meeting, or better yet several of them to smoke out the dynamics of attracting organizations of all types with jobs of all kinds, look at the trends of growth or departure in the past 5-10 years, and listen to the metrics, goals, scorecard, or whatever of OPED so the public is more aware of the game plan for future City revenues.
We might also discover how much property the City owns (in inventory) and at what expense (to purchase initially) and then foregone taxes, if that were the case, and the plans neighborhood by neighborhood. Scorecards are needed to keep track of what has been attempted over the years and still shows no sign of success while the City continues to find money to do projects that are not a PRIORITY for most taxpayers.
To be specific, I have followed land use and economic development activity in the Black Rock neighborhood for about seven years in some detail. I have heard about the on-again history of the Black Rock Bank & Trust (purchased by the City for about $650,000 it seems), its major parking area, the inability to find common leasing ground with the Arts Center and the continuing inability to find a productive purpose since then although rumors have caused ears to perk up on several occasions. During a similar time period State Rep Keeley secured $500,000 of State bonded funds for a project at Ellsworth Field with a three-line proposal with no specific design in mind. Two years later planning took place and community needs were solicited. Little league baseball needs were paramount and served. Tennis was not and still is a future activity on the drawing boards. However, a water pad park was included and Adam Wood indicated each of these cost about $200,000. My memory tells me the Ellsworth project ultimately showed a budget of some $570,000. Was that $370,000 plus $200,000 and if so what budget and funding paid for the overrun? Or is there a different explanation for spending? I do see parents and kids at the water park these days, but the season for such use is limited so how many residents really benefit? And what is the operating expense annually for maintenance, repairs and oversight in addition to the initial capital expense? What are priorities in this City? Who is looking at them routinely? Who is monitoring the varieties of money that get spent here as well? Time will tell.
*** Let’s hope it becomes a new state-of-the-art “Harding High School;” it’s about time! Waiting for some “make our dreams come true” mega-business to fill that site is just another pipe dream. Also with the Yale-New Haven/Bpt Hospital merge, it will bring new jobs, development and advanced medical care to the Fairfield County area as they expand into the old Harding High site. Let’s keep this party going, no? *** HERE WE GO! ***
“DREAMS COME TRUE!” ^(bobo)^
How about we try to attain the best of both worlds? Let’s rebuild Harding High on its current site and lease the air rights above it to Yale NH/Bridgeport Hospital to build a medical facility and have them partner with the Bpt BOE to make Harding a medical sciences careers HS with a career path into the medical field and high potential for job opportunities for graduates. We can then still have the GE property as taxable industrial use.