Facilities Planning

Planning our Space to Meet Student Learning Needs

Rising enrollment rates and limited school capacity are currently affecting a number of our elementary schools. These challenges will grow in the coming years, with a significant impact expected in the early 2030s.

To prepare, the Board of Education is developing a new 10-year facilities plan. The current plan expires in 2027. The new plan will address short and long-term solutions to space issues and the need to modernize many of our schools through building renovations.

This is a complex issue with no easy answers. The Board is still in the early research stage, and no decisions have been made. We encourage you to learn more by reviewing Board meeting presentations and discussions. We will continue to keep you updated on the issue.

Glastonbury Public Schools Building Timeline

Timeline by decade from 1920's to 2020s showing Building Dates and Major Renovation and Addition Dates for Glastonbury public school buildings. Building Dates: Naubuc 1929. Eastbury 1949. GHS 1953. Buttonball 1955. Hebron Avenue 1958. Hopewell 1961. Gideon 1967. Smith 1999. Nayaug 2007. Major Renovation and Addition Dates: Naubuc 1948. GHS 1956. Hebron Ave 1959. Buttonball 1960. Eastbury 1964. Naubuc 1969. GHS 1971. GHS 1990 & 1992. "Strive for Five" Buttonball, Eastbury, Hebron Ave., Hopewell, and Naubuc 1996. Gideon 2000. GHS 2006. GHS 2002. Naubuc 2nd Fl. 2024.

Facilities Information

Facilities Overview

Our school buildings are critical community assets that are supported by your tax dollars. Effective facility management and planning are key Board of Education responsibilities.

We regularly monitor and update our buildings to support learning.
Routine updates (high-traffic carpet replacement, HVAC updates, etc.) are scheduled through the town’s capital improvement budget.
Major renovations, like Naubuc’s second-floor renovation completed last year, can generally be expected to occur about every 20-30 years in the life of a school building.

Of Note

Nationwide, schools average 49 years old.*
6 of our schools were built in less than 2 decades between 1949 and 1967.
The 1996 “Strive for Five” renovation of elementary schools was nearly 30 years ago.
Naubuc, Gideon, and GHS are the only schools that have been renovated in the last quarter century.
Naubuc School is nearing its 100th birthday.

*American Society of Civil Engineers 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

Facilities Planning Resources

Recent Developments

On Monday, August 11, 2025, the Board of Education reviewed a consultant's report on school enrollment and elementary building space options. The consultants outlined several short and long-term options. The options were evaluated based on the following criteria:

Educational program needs
Scalability, adaptability, and flexibility
Demographic balance
Community disruption
Environmental sustainability
Fiscal responsibility (capital and operational)

The three long-term options that the Board will research and discuss over the coming months (and next year) are:

Building additions to existing elementary schools
Building addition to Gideon Welles School and shifting it to a districtwide 5th and 6th grade school
Converting the Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School into a K-5 Glastonbury Public School in 2032