Board of Ed Begins Consideration of Superintendent’s Budget

PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

Southington School Superintendent Steven Madancy presented a “high-level” version of his proposed budget for the first time to the Board of Education during its January 8 meeting.

“Community input is a crucial part of the budget process: to hear what people have to say (and) what they value as they live in our community,” Madancy emphasized, encouraging citizens to attend public comment sessions in March and April, and to make their voices heard.

Madancy’s initial ask is for $130,299,074, which represents a 6.89% increase over last fiscal year. He pointed to rising labor costs as a primary driver for the higher budget, as well as the current financial environment. Other factors cited include higher energy, transportation and rubbish removal costs.

The Superintendent also pointed out that funding from state and federal programs had diminished over the past year. “The minimal aid we receive from these sources places a disproportionate burden on our community,” he contended.

His presentation showed that in FY 2018-19, state and federal funding for education constituted 21.2% of the district operating budget. Last year those same sources covered only 17.1% of the budget, as the funding failed to keep up with escalating costs. This year Madancy said he expects to be “flat-funded,” and to receive only about 16% of his operating budget from state and federal sources.

About 61% of the proposed budget – $79.9 million – goes toward staff salaries. Benefits (21%) and services such as the aforementioned rubbish collection and transportation (15%) constitute most of the remainder.

“A lot of what you’ll see in this budget is closely associated with priorities in the strategic plan,” Madancy said.

Southington's public school system is one of the ten largest districts in Connecticut, with over 6,000 enrolled students. The percentages of English language learners, students with disabilities, and students qualifying for free or reduced price meals all have increased year-over-year, per district data, contributing to costs.

“We’re a big district, so these are not small numbers, and that’s one of the challenges associated with this budget,” Madancy said, referring to costs associated with technology for staff and students.

Madancy pointed out that Southington remains one of the lowest districts in the state when it comes to per-pupil expenditure; the figure, $19,930, puts the town 132nd out of 160. The average number in Connecticut is $24,270. However, he added, “we are doing a good job for what we spend on our students,” with schools offering a full academic curriculum.

Madancy suggested that the Board of Education was “wise” to wait until the Governor’s budget was unveiled before voting to approve spending. “You don’t want to adopt your budget and have a surprise on the legislative side of things, (such as) unfunded mandates or large changes coming our way that we’re not prepared for,” he said.

Madancy also thanked district staffers, who have been at work preparing the budget since mid-October. He said they managed to reduce a first-pass requested increase of 9.51% to the current request of 6.89%.

The Board will now scrutinize the budget books and weigh in at workshops on January 13 and 15.

Curricular Actions

As if to prove Madancy’s point about Southington schools offering a wide curriculum, the Board at its meeting voted to approve classes including pottery, equine science, and wildlife, as well as field trips for qualifying students to Italy, Texas and Vermont.

As the Board approved a new Emergency Medical Technician course, member Joseph Baczewski praised the district for adding it. He pointed out that students who are interested in health services careers, including nursing, physician’s assistants, and medicine, need to build up patient contact hours as part of that training, which the course will help them acquire.

“This is just another testament to how (the schools) provide a service for our community,” Baczewski said, noting also that students could earn wages in those learning hours.

An archery unit for the physical education curriculum had garnered some criticism due to safety concerns. Following a motion from Curriculum Chair Bob Brown, a vote was taken to postpone approval until the curriculum sub-committee has had a chance to address those concerns.

A Barn Raising

Board Member Lisa Cammuso, who chairs the Board’s Finance Committee, reported the Committee’s recommendation that an agricultural science barn be built near DePaolo middle school using a grant from Connecticut’s ASTE (Agricultural Science and Technology Education) program. Centers such as this one “prepare students for college and careers in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, mechanics, food science, biotechnology and the environment as part of their high school program,” according to the Department of Education, and are available to interested students whether or not their district offers the program.

Money for this construction does not come from the operating budget, Madancy stressed, adding that the district had been accruing funds for the barn’s construction over the years when alternate sources become available. He said that the construction could include features such walking paths and community garden spaces which could be used by members of Calendar House, for example.

The $803,990 will go toward “paving, enhanced roof warranty, a fire alarm system, partial concrete slab installation and a performance bond,” according to Cammuso.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.

Madancy also mentioned that a school meals debt of $10,492 had accumulated through November 2025, but that the district received a holiday donation from a resident in the amount of $1,500 to help pay down unpaid balances from students unable to afford the meals.

“Food services is a self-sustaining system and is not part of the Board of Education operating budget,” Cammuso noted.

Editor's note: the article has been corrected to reflect the fact that Bob Brown proposed to table discussion of the archery course until the committee could further consider the issue; the original had him objecting to the postponement.

The Risks of Crossing Route 10 on Foot

A pedestrian crossing button on Route 10. PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

Given the traffic one must contend with, crossing Route 10 on foot can often seem like a dicey proposition. There are, to be sure, signals and other apparatus in place along its various segments - Queen Street, North Main Street, Main Street, South Main Street in Plantsville, and Norton Street in Milldale - to make crossing feasible, and some of these offer adequate levels of security.

But not all of them. As many residents have noted, several seem to do little, if anything, to help pedestrians cross the road.

These concerns have been repeatedly brought to the attention of Southington’s Town Hall and Town Council. The Town, in turn, has urged Connecticut’s Department of Transportation to take steps to address the issue. (Route 10 is a State road, and modifying it is the State's responsibility.) So far, these efforts have yielded no tangible results.

The Main Problem

The problem with pedestrian walk signals on Route 10 was most recently aired in public last fall, at the September 9 meeting of Town Council. There, in response to an inquiry from Councilor Chris Palmieri, Chair Paul Chaplinsky described the issue along the following lines.

Suppose a pedestrian presses the button for a walk light and sees it turn green. Normally this means that traffic has come to a halt, with red lights in all directions. This is what happens at the intersection of Route 10 and Berlin Avenue, for example, and allows the pedestrian to cross safely.

However, at certain locations on Route 10, such as the intersection with Loper Street across from Price Chopper, there is no four-way stop. Instead, as Chaplinsky noted, the only thing that happens when the button is pushed is that, eventually, the traffic light goes through its regular cycle, with red turning green and green turning red. As a result, pedestrians must cross while cars entering or leaving Route 10 take advantage of their green light.

This puts vehicles, some traveling fast and others making turns, in close proximity to people traversing the road – often without the benefit of a painted crosswalk. Frequently there is no visual indication, other than the overhead light for car traffic, that pedestrians are allowed to cross.

The view as one prepares to cross Route 10 from Loper to the Price Chopper lot.

At the September meeting, members of the Council identified Loper Street, Mill Street, and Clark Street as places where this situation obtains. A recent survey by the Outsider yielded a fuller list of fourteen problematic crossings.

Two of them feature painted crosswalks and a single pedestrian light post on one side of the street:

Aircraft Road

Clark Street

Five have a pedestrian light post but no crosswalks:

Town Line Road

West Queen Street

Shop Rite Plaza, south entrance

Loper Street

Walmart Plaza

Two have a crosswalk across the side street, but no pedestrian light post:

Mill Street

High/Merrell Street

Finally, five crossings – all at very busy locations – have only a button on a post, with no lights or crosswalks:

Spring Street

I-84 W Exit (which traverses seven lanes of traffic)

Lazy Lane

Flanders Street

Curtiss Street

Other crossings in town, including the one in front of JFK Middle School, are marked by painted crosswalks but no mechanical apparatus.

Not all of the crossings on Southington’s stretch of Route 10 are like this. All-way stops with lights and crosswalks can be found at River Street, Shop Rite Plaza north, Goodwill Plaza, Hobart Street, Center Street, Berlin Avenue, Meriden Avenue, Old Turnpike Road, West Main Street, Mulberry Street/I-84, and Route 322. While pedestrians must still watch out for aggressive drivers before stepping into the roadway, they can at least count on clear signaling and red lights in all directions.

The painted crosswalk at Clark Street. The signal is behind the pedestrian's head.

The crossing at Lazy Lane - no crosswalk, no signal post.

The up-to-date crossing at Hobart Street, with a red light in every direction, crosswalks, and a signal on a post.

A Conversation With The Department Of Transportation

Another, more basic question has also been asked about these crossings: do their pedestrian signal buttons even work? Back in June, in response to resident complaints, Chaplinsky decided to go out and test some of the buttons on Route 10 for himself. The result? Pushing the button seemed to do nothing.

The Outsider confirmed this observation. After timing the lights at High Street, Mill Street, and Lazy Lane multiple times with a stopwatch, we found that pushing the button made no noticeable difference in the length of the cycle - the wait for a green light to cross, as well as the length of the green phase, were unchanged.

In order to better understand what was going on, Chaplinsky forwarded a request through Councilor Mike DelSanto to Town Engineer David Nourse, asking him to look into the matter. Nourse in turn contacted Jason Orr from the State Department of Transportation.

On June 26, Orr wrote back to Nourse to explain how the pedestrian button at Lazy Lane functions:

“As I mentioned earlier, this type of pedestrian button triggers the green light for the side street. In this case, there is no dedicated pedestrian signal at this location, so pressing the button sends a call to the overhead traffic signal to initiate the cycle. Since there is no separate signal head at the intersection, the system uses the main overhead signal to control traffic.”

“When a pedestrian presses the button, the light on the main road (artery) turns red, and the green light for the side street is activated. This means vehicles coming from the side street whether turning left or right must stop and yield to pedestrians crossing either the main road or the side street.”

In other words, a signal cycle eventually follows the pressing of the button - though whether pressing causes this to happen any sooner is unclear. Ultimately the onus is on drivers to stop and yield to pedestrians in the road, as required by Connecticut state law.

On September 12, shortly after the Council Meeting at which members from both parties expressed frustration with the situation, Chaplinsky and Palmieri co-signed a letter to the Connecticut Department of Transportation officially requesting that it “take corrective action to ensure pedestrian safety,” and that, at a minimum, it “remove or redesign the misleading ‘Push for Green Light’ signage where no crosswalks or pedestrian indications are provided.”

A reply came back from Commissioner Garrett T. Eucalitto on October 17, clarifying the State’s stance on the matter and spelling out current plans to address it.

First, according to Eucalitto, the crossings in question, officially referred to as “side street green,” are now considered obsolete. The State aims to replace them with a signal apparatus that includes countdown signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps and push buttons. Although work to replace them has begun, it will take time.

Second, the capital plan for DOT work on Route 10 in Southington includes full upgrades for the intersections at Flanders Street, Curtiss Street, Mill Street, and High/Merrell Street. This project is currently scheduled to go out for bid in July of 2027.

Nourse noted that an updated crossing at Town Line Road is also listed in the DOT’s website.

At the moment, that is where the matter stands. The DOT plans to correct the situation at five "side street green" crossings within a year or two. It has yet to address the situation at the remaining nine, which are, from north to south:

Aircraft Road

Shop Rite Plaza, south entrance

Spring Street

I-84 W Exit

Loper Street

Walmart Plaza

Lazy Lane

West Queen Street

Clark Street

A Recent Pedestrian Tragedy

A recent tragic incident brings home the dangers of crossing Route 10, even at designated crossings.

According to a press release from the Southington Police Department, at around 9:20pm on December 12 of last year, 70-year old Southington resident Ralph Gulla stepped into Queen Street near the exit from Walmart Plaza. There he was hit by a southbound Honda Civic. He sustained serious injuries and passed away at the scene. The driver, who was uninjured, remained to cooperate with investigators.

A final report on the incident has yet to come out. However, the press release states that the pedestrian “may have been attempting to cross the street.”

The Walmart crossing belongs to the second of the three categories of "side street green" crossings listed above: it has a pedestrian light post, but no crosswalk. And there is currently no plan to correct or upgrade it.

The obituary for Ralph Gulla can be read here.

The crossing at Walmart Plaza, with no crosswalk, and a signal post behind the pedestrian's head.

Planning & Zoning Approves Plan For Former DePaolo Furniture Site

PETER PROHASKA PHOTO

The Southington Planning and Zoning Commission had a busy agenda for its first meeting of 2026. Following the appointment of Republican alternates Zach Foti and Dennis Bougie and Democrats Katrina Caird and David Scott, the Commission moved through the scheduled items.

 

Former DePaolo Furniture Site Approved For Mixed-Use

After nearly a century in business, DePaolo Furniture closed its doors permanently in 2024. The main building located at 83 Center Street was originally built in 1880, according to Town records, but has been sitting vacant since DePaolo’s closure. A plan by local developer Luke Florian’s Freedom Property to renovate the space gained key approvals at the January 6 meeting.

Project engineer Stephen Giudice, who represented all of the evening’s applicants, walked the Commissioners through a plan for mixed-use renovation along with new construction. Freedom Property intends to add three residential units to the rear portion of the ground level and six units to the second-story. There would also be four new townhouse units on the Liberty Street side, where an existing structure has already been removed from the half-acre lot.

The developer is also seeking a commercial tenant, although Giudice stated that there is not a tenant in place at this time.

PROPOSED SITE LAYOUT BY COLE CIVIL + SURVEY

The four townhouses would feature patios, driveways and garage parking. Additional parking would come in the form of a parking lot for tenant use only.

Commissioner Robert Britton expressed concern about controlling unauthorized parking, but Giudice felt that “residents will police it better than any of us and keep people out of there if they don’t belong.” He went on to say that people are necessary for a “vibrant downtown,” joking, “When we can’t find a place to park downtown, that’s a good thing.”

Commissioner Caleb Cowles asked for additional clarification on parking and whether the number of spaces would suffice. Assistant Town Planner David Lavallee replied that with the diminished retail presence, the developer had met the requirement “and then some” by including the garage spaces.

As for the building’s external appearance, Giudice said it is Florian’s desire to keep much of the brick facade, while making the three buildings differ in appearance. Images shown during the meeting included a preliminary mock-up of the Center Street façade:

SCREENSHOT FROM STEPHEN GIUDICE'S SLIDE PRESENTATION

New Manufacturing Buildings

 

The PZC approved the construction of a new building on the eight-acre lot at 170 Spring Street. The site is home to the Gordon Corporation, a manufacturer of steel basement doors. The company has been in business for over 60 years, according to its website, but was in need of new facilities.

The PZC also gave the go-ahead to another local business, AGA Architectural Millworks, for the construction of two new buildings on its lot at 201 Newell Street. Kris Kolodziejczyk, the company’s president, explained to the PZC that his principal business involves manufacturing high-end wood pieces such as cabinets, desks and other features for clients that include businesses and schools. However, many pieces are of a size that requires more storage capacity. The plan, he said, was to lease the pre-existing buildings to help defray costs for the new ones.

AGA Millworks further asked for an additional subdivision of the property in order to facilitate loading operations, a request that was also granted.

Historical Property Purchase Recommended

Along with those approvals, the PZC made an official recommendation (known as an 8-24 recommendation) that paves the way for the Town to acquire a small piece of property near 821 South End Road with historical significance.

The Curtiss family farmed in Southington for generations before conveying some of their land holdings for conservation and public use. Recent research from Christina Volpe, Director of the Barnes Museum, as well as the Southington Historical Society, led to the discovery that a root cellar on the farm was used as part of the Underground Railroad, which helped enslaved people reach freedom.

Per the recommendation of the Town’s Open Space Committee, the property in question, about one-eighth of an acre in size, would remain in public hands at a cost of $15,000 drawn from the Open Space fund. Committee chair Jennifer Clock listed in a letter some reasons why the PZC should recommend the purchase. These include recognizing Southington’s pro-abolition history; preserving the integrity of the Curtiss Open Space parcel by including the cellar; and protecting against the loss of this historical feature.

The Town Council will consider whether to approve the expenditure at its January 12 meeting, according to the agenda.

The next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled for January 20.

The Curtiss farm house and adjacent open space land, with open space marker in the foreground. PETER PROHASKA PHOTO