“For decades, thousands of Bridgeport kids have been attending schools in desperate need of repair. But that's changing. We're making smart investments in school construction. On my watch, we've launched the largest school construction effort in our city's history.”– Mayor Bill Finch
- WHO: Mayor Bill Finch, State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, City Council Member Susan Brannelly, School Officials, and Construction Workers.
- WHAT: Walkthrough of Longfellow School Construction Site.
- WHERE: New Longfellow School site (139 Ocean Terrace, Bridgeport, Conn.).
- WHEN: Wednesday, July 15, at 12:30 p.m.
Bridgeport, Connecticut (July 14, 2015) – Tomorrow, Mayor Bill Finch will join elected officials and school officials for a tour of the Longfellow Elementary School construction site.
A new 75,680 square foot school including a full size gymnasium, a technology and media center, a cafeteria, and an outdoor play areas is currently under construction. The new school will meet LEED SILVER Classification.
Construction of Longfellow School is just one of several ongoing school construction projects in Bridgeport. Under Mayor Finch’s leadership, thirteen thousand students in the Park City will attend new or renovated schools in the near future as the city continues working to provide kids with the tools to one day compete for 21st-century jobs.
“For decades, thousands of Bridgeport kids have been attending schools in desperate need of repair. But that's changing. We're making smart investments in school construction. On my watch, we've launched the largest school construction effort in our city's history,” said Mayor Finch. “We're renovating existing – and creating new – schools. Once complete, our school construction program will have created more than 3,000 jobs in Bridgeport. And, more than half of our public school kids will attend a new or newly renovated school, ensuring more and more kids are learning in the right environment.”
In every city neighborhood, Mayor Bill Finch is building new schools and renovating existing ones.
By the time the initiative is completed, the city and state will have invested $725 million in new and renovated schools for kids.
This aggressive school construction program is also providing a boost to our local economy by creating jobs and giving small business an opportunity to grow and thrive.
Recently, through the efforts of Small, Minority Business Resource Office, more than $50 million has been awarded to small, minority and women-owned businesses on Bridgeport’s four most recent school construction projects.
On these four construction projects - Black Rock Elementary School, Fairchild Wheeler Magnet High School, Roosevelt Elementary School and Longfellow Elementary School - 100 out of 101 subcontracting opportunities were awarded to minority or women-owned businesses.
Funding for the new $50 million Longfellow Elementary School is provided by the State of Connecticut and City of Bridgeport. Work began on the project last summer and is slated to be completed in the fall of 2016.