Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Supply-Chain Issues Delay Opening of Connecticut Elementary School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 12/20/22

Brookfield Public Schools in Brookfield, Conn., recently announced that the move-in date for its new elementary school has been delayed following a series of supply-chain issues, according to local news. Candlewood Lake Elementary, originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2022, will instead be finished in late May or early June of 2023, and staff and students will move into the facility in time for the fall 2023 semester. The new school measures in at 139,000 square feet and has an estimated $78.1-million budget, local news reports.

The district previously announced that due to delays in the availability of flooring materials, the school’s opening would have to be pushed off. In a Dec. 15 letter to parents and the larger school community posted on the district website, school leadership announced the new move-in date—as well as a shift in the move-in plan. Originally, students and staff would have phased into the new building during the spring 2023 semester. Now, the entire PreK–5 community will start the 2023–24 academic year together in the same place.

The new school will have the capacity for more than 1,000 students and 200 teachers and staff.

The school’s originally scheduled flooring provider filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Municipal Building Committee chair Paul Checco said that the loss of this supplier created a “ripple effect” in the market as other flooring manufacturers experienced a rise in demand. The project also experienced a previous delay of three to four months in Nov. 2021 related to the delivery of roofing materials.

“The good news is we are able to stay on the original plan that the entire Pre-K through Fifth Grade will be in the new school together to start the 2023–2024 school year on September 5th, right after Labor Day,” said the letter. “This provides us with the opportunity to become one school community together, at the same time, as originally envisioned when CLES opens its doors.”

The district is partnering with construction firm O&G.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • iPark 87

    Building a Future-Focused Career and Technical Education Center

    A district superintendent shares his team's journey to aligning student passions with workforce demands, and why their new CTE center could be a model for districts nationwide.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • Rhode Island Boarding School Completes Student Dorm Renovations

    St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I., recently announced the completion of a $26-million renovation project on Arden-Diman-Eccles Dormitory, according to a news release. The school partnered with Voith & Mactavish Architects (VMA) on the new space, which places a new focus on collaborative community spaces open to both boarding students and day students.

Digital Edition