NORTH STONINGTON -- There will soon be a new $38 million building for the town's middle and high school students.
Thursday night, residents voted on a referendum asking if the town should continue with the plans to build and renovate its school buildings.
According to the plans, a brand new middle school/high school building will be built and attached to the current gymatorium. It will also end the use of the tunnel under Norwich Westerly Road, renovate the elementary school and address issues with the roof at the Board of Education's central office.
This time around, the vote overwhelmingly passed, 1,352- 611, unlike the first vote in May of 2016 which only passed by three votes.
The referendum still drew residents on both sides of the fence.
“I think the kids deserve it. I think the town deserves it. It’s the best thing to keep this town moving forward. I think it’s the best thing for the future," says Shelly Neddeau.
“I think $38 million is ridiculous to be paying for a new school. I think we should ship them off to another town," exclaims Ryan McGowan.
First Selectman Mike Urgo released the following statement on Facebook:
North Stonington School Modernization Committee would like to announce the groundbreaking for the school modernization project. This groundbreaking was tentatively scheduled based on the construction timeframe we were working towards. Should the vote have failed it would have been canceled. The community is invited to join in the celebration tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9 AM outside the gymatorium.
Thank you to everyone who voted today in what was a record turnout for the town.