BRISTOL — As the Newfound Area School District faces unexpected financial challenges, its new business administrator is asking the school board to take a longer-term approach to decisions such as building consolidation.
In preparing its budget proposal for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the school board had voted to close the Danbury Elementary School this year, while looking into the feasibility of further building consolidation in the future. Business Administrator Michael Limanni told the board on August 10 that, before deciding on the disposal of DES, they should consider whether to sell, lease, or maintain it in case of future needs.
A new state law taking effect in September will make such decisions that much more difficult. Because the school board did not formally declare the school an “unused facility” by July 1, the new law, which takes effect in September, will require a closure decision to go before the voters.
“This is uncharted territory,” Limanni said, referring to an earlier change in state law that requires school districts disposing of buildings to make a good-faith attempt to negotiate a sales agreement with a charter school.
When the cooperative school district formed, the member towns agreed that, should their local school building no longer be needed, it would be returned to the town. Newfound did so when the district closed the Bridgewater, Alexandria, and Hebron elementary schools. Now, if a charter school is interested in the building, it has the first right to negotiate for its purchase.