The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has paused plans for a new magnet school in Colchester called the Hayward Public Service Academy after the Colchester Board of Education put off approval of the magnet school plan “until mid-January” to address community concerns – namely that the magnet school plan had been sprung on them with little community knowledge or input.
The delay, however, meant the CSDE could not advertise or begin enrolling students into the magnet school for the 2025-2026 school year, according to a Christmas Eve letter to Colchester Superintendent Daniel P. Sullivan, and therefore had to issue a “stay” on the school.
In a letter issued that very same day by the Colchester BOE, officials acknowledged “the anxiety this proposed program has caused, and we want to reassure everyone that the BOE has always been committed to providing equitable access to quality education for all students, both within and outside our district.”
According to the November 13, 2024, acceptance letter from the CSDE, the HAPS magnet school would be part of the Sheff Region, meaning that students from Hartford could enroll in a lottery system to attend the school, and the school would have to meet certain socio-economic diversity standards. The proposed magnet school would specialize in Fire and Public Safety, Early Childhood Education and Sports Medicine.
However, the Colchester BOE also saw the magnet school as a windfall of revenue for the town.
Rather than building a new school, the HAPS school would be a “school within a school,” meaning that the estimated 160 magnet school students would attend courses within Bacon Academy and in a 5,250 square foot “single level metal building,” that would be constructed to house classrooms, lab space and specialized equipment, according to the BOE’s webpage and presentation.
According to the Colchester BOE, the construction costs for the metal building would be reimbursed, while operating the magnet school would only cost $599,063 to operate, but the estimated tuition revenue from out-of-district students would be $1,597,800, netting the district nearly $1 million per year.
“It is our hope that the community recognizes that this project was proposed with the best of intentions and reflects a willingness of the Superintendent and the Board of Education to listen to suggestions and respond,” the Colchester BOE letter states. “In the winter of 2023, we were encouraged to increase revenue and to address decreasing enrollment in the high school. This project has the potential to increase enrollment by up to 160 students and revenue by $1 million or more each year.”
Although conversations about the magnet school began in September of 2023 and the application was sent in January of 2024, according to the BOE’s timeline, it appears some in the community felt blindsided when the BOE announced Colchester had been approved for a magnet school pilot in November of 2024.
A website called Citizens for Colchester is critical of the new magnet school and more so of how the BOE has attempted to implement the plan – including their proposal to construct a new building on school property without approval – yet – by the town’s Board of Selectmen or Board of Finance and calls for a referendum on the magnet school.
“On November 25, 2024, the Colchester Board of Education voted to establish a magnet school within Bacon Academy. This decision was made unilaterally, without input or collaboration from the citizens of Colchester, the parents of students in the school district, or other key stakeholders, including the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen,” the website states. “Making such a significant decision without seeking public input reflects a troubling lapse in leadership and transparency.”
Colchester resident Michael Dubreuil says there has been a notable decrease in transparency at the BOE over the last year.
“As residents, we are left without enough information about the curriculum or the financial implications of the magnet school,” Dubreuil said in a statement to Inside Investigator. “It’s inconceivable this project isn’t being scheduled for a referendum. Many are worried that this proposal could result in higher costs for Colchester taxpayers.”
Residents got the opportunity to weigh in on the project at a special BOE meeting on December 18 – the same night the BOE decided to wait until mid-January to approve the project – and appeared divided on the idea, with some praising the diversity of students the magnet school could bring to Colchester, particularly as its own student population is declining, while others raised concerns about the transparency and public communication of the project.
Several members of the town’s Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance also weighed in during public comment, including First Selectman Bernie Dennler who said he appreciated the BOE stepping back “to hear the citizens,” but had “concerns about the timeline and construction,” of the project, according to meeting minutes. Karen Belding, chair of the Board of Finance emailed a list of questions including cost estimates, key milestones, and reimbursement mechanisms.
Despite the setback, the BOE wrote in their December 24 letter that the delay was “best for all concerned.”
“First and foremost, it ensures that out-of-district students don’t select a school in the lottery that may not open next fall,” the BOE wrote. “Second, it gives our Board and community adequate time to share information and weigh the pros and cons of adding a ‘school within a school’ magnet program at Bacon Academy.”
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