Holmes Elementary School Ribbon Cutting is set for Wednesday, September 30th
By John McNamara – nbpoliticus.com
Mayor Bobby Sanchez and Cong. Jahana Hayes (D-5) led local and state officials and educators in the groundbreaking for Smith Elementary School’s major renovation on September 23rd.
Smith School Principal Melissa Rivera and Early Learning Center Principal Terry Turcotte welcomed officials to the construction site on Rutherford Street, including Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Tony Gasper, Board of Education President Diana Reyes, Angelo D’Alfonso, Chairperson of the School Building Committee and Michelle Halloran Gilman, CT Dept. of Administrative Services Commissioner.
School Construction Update
The makeover of the K-5 school at an estimated cost of up to $145 million is expected to take two years and is the latest school construction project for which the city has received a 95 per cent reimbursement rate for eligible costs from the state . Mayor Sanchez as a member and former Chair of the Legislature’s Education Committee led efforts to secure 95% state support for school construction at several New Britain schools before his election to the mayor’s office last year.
Reconstruction will include “modernized classrooms, structural improvements, upgraded technology infrastructure and energy-efficient building systems.” Expansion will include five playground and recreational areas for outdoor learning on sloping open space. A major component of the project will add a 22-classroom Pre-K Early Learning Center in a building designed for early learners. The Early Learning Center was originally planned for Chamberlain Elementary School but was deferred to the Smith School modernization.
Smith School’s faculty, staff and students have been relocated to the former John Paul II school (Holy Cross) on Farmington Avenue for the current school year. The parochial school building, upgraded with school construction funds, has served as a swing school during renovations to the Smalley, Chamberlain, Holmes and now Smith elementary schools.
The existing Smith School, originally built in 1890, was expanded in 1952 and underwent its last major renovation in 1994. The school was once located in what became Saint Thomas Aquinas High School at Kelsey and East streets. The Aquinas site was razed in 2023 and replaced by starter homes in the East Side neighborhood. Smith School, named for 19th Century industrialist and Board of Education member Levi O. Smith, enrolls 493 students.
Hartford-based Newfield Construction is the general contractor for Smith School reconstruction and Kaestle Boos Architects (New Britain) selected for design and architectural services.
The Consolidated School District will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at Holmes Elementary School on Stanley Street on Wednesday, September 30th at 10 a.m. Holmes School re-opened for the 2026-2027 school year last month after a $70 million two-year modernization of the school built in 1956.
Both the Holmes and Smith reconstructions involve new technologies, energy systems (solar) and expansion of playgrounds and outdoor space for learning.
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John McNamara is a Ward 4 Alderman and the Common Council Majority Leader.
