This includes seeking an academy director and purchasing the space where the new school will be built inside the Summit, a 1.2 million-square-foot development on the west side.
Mayor Joe Cavo said local officials likely will meet next week to discuss next steps for the career academy, which is expected to serve 1,400 middle and high school students. The school is on track to open in the fall of 2024.
"We'll have a better handle on things at that point," he said Monday.
The architect, city, state and school officials haven't talked much since the beginning of the academic year, so Superintendent Kevin Walston said he wants to bring the building committee back together.
"We just feel like it's time to get everyone back at the table, making sure we're still OK for 2024-25 because this building (Danbury High School) is busting at the seams," Walston said at last week's school board meeting.
Danbury hasn't heard feedback from the state on the application it submitted earlier this fall to earn an 80 percent reimbursement for the project, Cavo said.
That may be in part because the official Danbury had been working closely with no longer works for the state. Kosta Diamantis, who was in charge of school construction projects like Danbury's, quit last month after he was placed on paid leave due to a personnel issue, the Connecticut Mirror reported.
Cavo said he's not too concerned for now.
"While we're doing our work, there's no need to pressure them (the state) on this at the moment," he said. "But at some point, we're going to have to have a conversation with them.
Noel Petra, Department of Administrative Services deputy commissioner of real estate and construction services, is interim director of the Office of School Construction while the agency recruits someone to fill the position permanently, according to a spokesman with DAS.
"The Office of School Construction Grants is reviewing and evaluating the Danbury Career Academy application and will continue to work with all parties involved," spokesman John McKay said in an email.
The city is working to secure preliminary construction estimates based on a recently completed set of drawings, said Antonio Iadarola, director of public works and city engineer.
Meanwhile, an appraiser is determining the value of the "pods" at the Summit before the city purchases them for the classrooms, Cavo said. He said he's not sure when the city could close on the purchase. Appraisers are backed up with work because of the hot real estate market.
"It's hard to say," he said. "It was a little complicated to find the appraiser that had the experience needed to look at a building like that with the complexity of it and the size of it."
Construction won't be too complicated because the school will go into an existing building, Cavo said.
"We just have to make the insides accommodate for our needs and classrooms and educational space," he said. "As far as I know, everything is on track, except for this little issue with the state."
ACADEMY DIRECTOR
The schools aim to hire a director who will better connect businesses with the high school and career academy.
"This position would be kind of a new idea for our school district," Walston said the board meeting. "This position specifically would be charged with developing partnerships in our Danbury and greater Danbury community to make sure our kids have relevant experiences outside of Danbury High School."
With its new high school, Danbury plans to develop six "academies" for students in the existing high school and new building to study career fields. There will be 24 "pathways" for students to choose from.
Danbury's career academy is modeled after a similar school in Nashville, which has a position like this.
This director would support the internships, job shadow, early college and other similar experiences that high school students are expected to pursue. He or she would coordinate scholarships, donations and even an academy foundation, as well as develop partnerships with universities.
"It can't wait until the academy opens in 2024," said Kara Casimiro, chief officer for academic affairs, who has been leading this work already.
Mayor-elect Dean Esposito said he plans to coordinate with school leaders to ensure the district has the funding needed to operate the academy
"This conversation will continue throughout the entire year, and we will work as partners to ensure the continuation of our legacy of success here in Danbury," he said in a statement.
Students in the Academy of Scientific Innovation & Medicine and the Academy of Global Enterprise & Economics will attend the new school. Students at Danbury High School would study the other academies, which center on information technology and cybersecurity; professional and public service; art, engineering and design; and communications and design.
Students are expected to connect with the businesses in the Summit. These businesses include Nuvance Health, which signed a lease last year to rent 220,000 square feet of office space.
"Our plans for the Summit are moving forward to relocate select administrative and support departments to that site," spokeswoman Andrea Rynn said in an email. "Some departments are already operational at that location with the remainder to make the move in the coming months."
©2021 The News-Times (Danbury, Conn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
