The MSD Board of Education authorized a Certificate of Necessity be sent to DOE for possible major renovations to MHS
At a recent meeting, the Milford School District Board of Education voted unanimously to submit a Certificate of Necessity for major renovations and expansion of the Milford Senior High School. Dr. Sara Hale, Chief Financial Officer, explained that this was a very preliminary discussion, but a required one in order to have conversations at the state level.
“So, each year there’s a process for Certificates of Necessity for all school districts in the state to submit projects that they may have for consideration in the bond bill in fiscal year 2025,” Dr. Hale said. “In this case, there are a number of projects statewide, which we are aware of and there’s a lag for being approved for these projects. So, we feel it’s important to start the conversation at the state level, knowing that our district is growing substantially.”
Dr. Hale explained that the district would maintain the current high school which has a capacity of 1,149 students. However, current enrollment at the school is 1,348, which is significantly over capacity for the building, making an addition necessary.
“The conceptual plan would remove the modular classrooms and do some restructuring in the back wing for career and technical education courses, providing opportunities for new pathways here, and then potentially a major demolition on the front side of the building, restructuring the main entrance way and providing an addition that could secure us up to approximately 30,000 square feet of additional space here at Milford High School,” Dr. Hale said. “So again, this is a very preliminary conversation, one that we just need to go through the process of submitting and getting some final estimates and figures together. If we were approved, we would continue to come back to the board for our next steps. But again, just starting that conversation as we continue to grow and see that capacity here at Milford High School.”
School Board President Scott Fitzgerald clarified that this was a preliminary first step and that this process could be several years in the future. Hale confirmed that was true and that this process was only done on an annual basis.
“We felt like it was important to at least have a submission this year and get our project kind of in the queue of projects at the state level, knowing that the likelihood of us being approved this year is slim,” Dr. Hale said. “So we would have an opportunity to resubmit next year having them already familiar with the project and the intent as we go forward and refine.”
The board voted unanimously to submit a Certificate of Necessity for major renovations and expansion of Milford High School to the Department of Education.
“I feel like this is a vital step for the building and our future component of our strategic plan,” Dr. Hale said after the vote.
Share this Post