MERIDEN - Plans were in place to begin renovating Wilcox Technical High School this fall, but the project was stalled indefinitely this summer because of concerns over the state budget impasse.

Wilcox Principal Richard Cavallaro was excited to learn Monday that the project was back on track. The General Assembly passed a budget implementer bill that included $60.2 million for the second phase of Wilcox's renovation project last week, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed the bill Monday.

"I don't know if words can express my happiness," Cavallaro said. "I can't believe it. I'm elated."

The second phase of the Wilcox project will give the school additional classrooms, new science laboratories and equipment and change the Oregon Road building's facade. The first phase of the school's project included preliminary work to remove asbestos.

For the transformation to happen, the school will have to use 14 portable classrooms, which will be placed in its front parking lot. Staff and students were initially expected to move into the portable classrooms this November and construction was to start in January.

Because of the delay, the timetable is unclear, but Cavallaro said he can move quickly to make the plans become a reality. The project is expected to take three years to complete, he said.

State Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden, co-chairman of the legislature's Education Committee, said he was pleased to help secure the construction money for Wilcox and is looking forward to seeing the project get under way.

"I want to see that project completed in the next few years," Gaffey said, noting that the project will bring jobs to the area and will benefit the local economy. "It's long overdue."

Gaffey is also pleased to report that Meriden will see a boost in per-pupil reimbursement for the students it sends to Thomas Edison Middle School, a North Broad Street magnet school operated by Area Cooperative Education Services.

Reimbursement was increased for districts enrolling at least 55 percent, but less than 80 percent, of the students at magnet schools in their district. Of districts partnering with ACES, only Meriden and Hamden will see an increase, said Craig W. Edmondson, executive director of ACES.

Hamden students make up more than half of the student body at Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School, which is located there.

Reimbursement for other districts sending students to magnet schools, such as Wallingford, will remain the same as last fiscal year - $6,730 per pupil.

"We're absolutely thrilled," Edmondson said about the increase in reimbursement, adding that the money will help districts like Meriden cope with recent tuition hikes. Tuition at Edison increased by 4 percent - from $11,337 to $11,837 - this year from last year.

The reimbursement for students from districts such as Meriden will increase from $3,000 to $4,250 per student. That translates to an estimated savings of $740,000 for Meriden, which sends about 600 students to Edison, said Glen A. Lamontagne, Meriden's assistant superintendent for finance and administration.

Lamontagne hopes the city's school board will use the savings for capital purchases such as technology, library books or vehicles. Putting the money toward staff would not be wise, he said, because this unexpected gain is likely a one-time thing.

"It's not like we don't have a list of needs," he said.

Edmondson and Lamontagne both said the reimbursement rate for districts such as Meriden has remained flat for several years, and that the increase is appreciated.

Also included in the budget implementer bill is a provision that delays the state's in-school suspension law for another year. The law was supposed to go into effect July 1, but will now be effective beginning July 1, 2010.

The in-school suspension law, which will change expectations for student discipline, was already delayed by one year after school districts throughout the state complained of space and staffing concerns.

afalcone@record-journal.com

(203) 317-2232