Riverside School

Building Renovation Project

‘Tis the Season to

Advocate for the Riverside Renovation

As the town’s budget process gets underway and the renovation project gains momentum, engagement & advocacy from the school community becomes increasingly important.

In the coming months, elected officials that include the First Selectman, members of the Board of Education (BOE) and members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) will be making critical decisions that will determine the scope and timing of the renovation project.

Making sure these decisions align with our own priorities, goals and needs is our responsibility as a community, and can be achieved by using our voices to communicate what’s important to us.

How do we advocate?

Riverside School parents (both moms and dads), staff, administration, neighbors and current or former students can email elected officials, attend or speak at public forums dressed in Riverside red, or even write a Letter to the Editor (see a recent example).

When should we advocate?

December 2024 – Board of Education (BOE)

The renovation project’s educational specifications (Ed Specs), which lay out all the possible fixes, upgrades and additions to the building, are slated to be presented to the BOE at their December 12th meeting. The BOE is responsible for deliberating, updating and approving the final version of the Ed Specs which, in turn, will determine the scope of the project. The Riverside community will be called upon to advocate for the items in the Ed Specs deemed most important to us by emailing the BOE ahead of time and attending and/or speaking at the December 12th meeting.

January 2025 – First Selectman

First Selectman Camillo is tasked with preparing and presenting a townwide Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget and 5-year capital plan to the Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET) on January 28th. The Riverside community will be called upon to email Mr. Camillo, encouraging him to include (as per the BOE's recently approved capital plan) $2mm design funding in the FY25-26 budget and construction funding in the FY26-27 column of the 5-year capital plan. The First Selectman’s version of the budget and capital plan are the starting point for the BET’s budget deliberations.

January to March 2025 – Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET)

The Riverside community will be called upon to email the BET and attend and/or speak at the BET’s January and March public hearings, urging them to include the $2mm design funding in the town’s FY25-26 capital budget and allocate construction funding in FY26-27 within their capital plan at a projected cost consistent with the Ed Specs. Currently, $0 has been earmarked for design and construction in the town’s capital plan.

$2mm Design Funds Approved in Next Year's

Board of Education Capital Budget

On October 24, 2024, the Board of Education (BOE) has approved the $2mm Design / A&E funding for the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. The BOE's approval does not guarantee that the funds will be allocated because that is up to the town's Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET) and Representative Town Meeting (RTM). However, it ensures the $2mm is included in the BOE budget that is sent to First Selectman Fred Camillo for consideration in the town-wide capital budget he will present in January for the BET to deliberate.

In response to parents and staff who spoke in support of the project at the BOE's October business meeting, BOE members took action

Our community also advocated for pulling the Construction funding in the BOE's capital planning document ahead a year to eliminate a one-year gap between allocation of A&E funds and Construction funds. The BOE took action on this, approving the shift in Construction funding from the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027 to the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. Since the BOE only approves its capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year, this is subject to change; but we are encouraged by the BOE's show of support for the Riverside renovation project.

Hear the Riverside community's comments (12 mins) advocating for the project and the BOE's conversation (13 mins) about the Riverside project. Read about it in Greenwich Time.

Introductory and Background Information

about the Riverside Renovation Project

How was Riverside identified as a school in need of a renovation?

In 2018, Greenwich Public Schools issued a 15-year Facilities Master Plan for building maintenance and modernization after conducting a comprehensive assessment of its facilities. The study identified Riverside as one of three schools with the highest priority needs. Note: Renderings in the Facilities Master Plan are conceptual and may differ from actual results.

Building improvement projects at the two other high-priority schools – Old Greenwich, which is expected to break ground in Summer 2025, and Julian Curtiss – are now well underway, making Riverside School next in line for building upgrades.

Why is a renovation project at Riverside so important?

The Riverside School building is a 1930s-era neighborhood gem that, thanks to its quality pre-war construction, has good bones and a lot of character. However, the building has multiple longstanding issues that the renovation project is expected to address and remedy, such as:

Additional accessibility issues at Riverside were studied as part of the district-wide evaluation conducted in Spring 2024. We expect the building renovation project to address, and resolve, these issues.

For additional information about the building’s key issues, please see the handout we provided to local elected officials who attended the building tour we hosted in March 2024.

What are the key phases of a building renovation project?

The Riverside building renovation is expected to be a multi-year project that has the potential to be large in scope. The project will be broken into three phases: Feasibility, Design (also known as Architecture & Engineering, or A&E for short) and Construction.

As of fiscal year 2025 (beginning July 1, 2024), Feasibility is the only phase of the Riverside renovation project that has been funded. Thus, funding from the town must be secured for Design and Construction during future budget cycles. The years in which funding is granted will determine the timing of this project. Funding for projects like this is typically allocated during the town’s annual budget development process.

Please note that the $48mm Construction figure in the proposed BOE funding is likely to change as additional information becomes available about the scope of the project. As of now, this figure is derived from the Old Greenwich School renovation project. While these school buildings may have some common characteristics, they are different projects.

The first step of the project (Feasibility) has begun.

The Feasibility Committee – comprised of architects, district and school administrators, Riverside teachers, elected officials and PTA representatives – is meeting throughout the Fall to identify and prioritize what needs to be fixed, renovated or expanded at the school.

After the architects collect information about all possible fixes to the school building, the committee will prioritize them to determine which will be included in the educational specifications (Ed Specs). The Ed Specs determine the scope of the project and the changes/improvements that will be made to the building. We expect that an effort to preserve at least some of the building’s pre-war era character and craftsmanship will also be factored into the Ed Specs.

For additional information about feasibility, including committee members, meeting agendas & minutes and other related documents, please see the district's Riverside Feasibility webpage.

To advance to the next phase of the project, the Ed Specs established by the Feasibility Committee must be deliberated and approved by the Board of Education. The professional team of architects is slated to present the Ed Specs to the Board of Education for approval on December 12, 2024.

How can Riverside School parents get involved in the renovation project?

At a minimum, we advise staying informed by reading all updates from Dr. Jones, Principal Martín and the PTA.

In the coming months and years, parents who believe that children in our community deserve a safe and accessible school that’s sized appropriately and equipped for modern learning will be called upon to advocate for approval of the Ed Specs and funding of design and construction.

The myriad voices of support from the Old Greenwich parent community were a key factor in the school securing the ~$40+ million it needed to properly renovate and expand its building starting in Summer 2025. We expect the many voices within our parent community to play just as big a role in the success of the Riverside renovation project.

Advocacy will include writing to local officials (Board of Education, Board of Estimate & Taxation, First Selectman), attending or speaking at public hearings, and participating in local elections to vote for candidates who demonstrate support for the project.