Jacqueline Devine, Campus Correspondent News Jacqueline.devine@uconn.edu, 203-247-1412Mansfield/UConn officials weigh in on E.O. Smith proposal

Edwin O. Smith High School may become the property of the University of Connecticut once more, spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said Monday.

“E.O. Smith was built on UConn land with state money in the 1950s, and UConn operated the high school,” Reitz said. “Until the mid-1980s, [then] UConn gave the land and the building to the towns/Region 19.”

Region 19, which encompasses the towns of Ashford, Mansfield and Willington, proposed that UConn purchase the high school’s property at the town council meeting Feb. 22.

Superintendent of the high school, Bruce Silva, said there is value in the school’s site for UConn.

“There may be an opportunity for both the university and Region 19 if there was a sale of the property,” Silva said. “[The sale] would potentially allow us to build a new high school.”

The most logical site of the new high school would be UConn’s Depot Campus, Reitz said. There is no cost estimate at this time.

There would need to be an appraisal done of the property, Silva said.

“We’re studying it, trying to examine the opportunity as well as the liabilities,” Silva said.

The Mansfield Town Council invited Region 19 to their last meeting, but they declined to show up, town council member, Mark Sargent, said.

“I need to see some hard numbers before a decision has been made,” Sargent said.

Region 19 authorized Silva to write to UConn and ask if the university would be willing to provide the district with university land to build a new high school, Reitz said.

“If … an agreement could be reached, the university would purchase the E.O. Smith property and it would be returned to UConn as part of the agreement,” Reitz said.

However, there has been some opposition following Region 19’s request.

The Town Manager of Mansfield, Matthew Hart, said relocating the high school would affect Storrs Center.

“A new high school located at UConn’s Depot Campus will not be as walkable as the current location and will not have the same access to Storrs Center, the Mansfield Community Center and the UConn main campus,” Hart said.

Hart also mentioned a potential impact occurring among the neighborhoods close to the current campus as well as the Farrell Fields complex.

“There are a range of potential impacts to consider, including the cost of debt service to pay for the construction of a new high school, and land use issues associated with UConn’s future use and development of the existing [E.O. Smith] campus,” he said.

The response from Mansfield residents has not been clear, Silva said.

“I think people are, at this point, hearing about the possibilities,” Silva said. “[It is] hard to gage a reaction ‘cause they don’t know the financial deal.”

The feedback overall has been positive, Silva said.

As for building a new high school, Silva said it could cost $120 million.

“We would get a certain amount of money from the state,” Silva said. “With the proceeds of the sale of our property and a state building grant, we would probably be somewhere in the range of needing $30 million.”

In terms of a timeline, Silva said Region 19 “will be hiring a design team by the end of March.”

E.O. Smith was renovated in 1998 but “half the building is still vintage,” Silva said. The high school would need a new roof in the next 3 years and the building does not half air conditioning.

Region 19 is trying to get this on a ballot referendum for the upcoming election in Nov. 2016, Sargent said.

If the issue were put on a ballot it would create a huge turnout, Silva said. Two things would need to happen if Region 19 were to put it on the ballot: first, the district would need to amend the regional plan. In order to change the location of the high school, each town would have to approve. The second part of the referendum would be that if the district were to bond any money then that would need to be on the ballot as well.

All decisions with regard to E.O. Smith are still in their preliminary phases, Reitz said.

“The university responded that we would be willing to discuss this possibility with the region, and that's as far as it has gone at this point -- discussions only,” Reitz said.