A rendering shows the planned replacement for Bassick High School. City officials are preparing to begin construction on the four-story building that will also house the Bridgeport Military Academy.
Contributed / Courtesy of Bridgeport Public SchoolBRIDGEPORT — Bridgeport Public Schools will hold a public forum next week to outline plans to relocate the Bridgeport Military Academy to the new Bassick High School, a controversial arrangement that has sparked concerns among some parents and students.
Community members have been invited to submit questions online about the yet-to-be-constructed school ahead of the forum, which is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the Harding High School auditorium.
“I think the room should be packed with parents and students voicing their concerns or voicing their praises,” Board of Education Chair Bobbi Brown said last week. “Either way, the floor is open.”
Officials are preparing to break ground on the four-story building at a recently cleared site on Broad Street near Seaside Park in the city’s South End. The school, which will be able to serve more than 1,200 students, is expected to open by the 2025-26 school year.
In addition to being the new home of Bassick High School, the 204,000-square-foot structure will also house the Bridgeport Military Academy, a school with about 300 students currently located on Iranistan Avenue.
Though construction is expected to get underway shortly on the $129 million project, some board members have recently raised concerns about moving forward with plans to relocate the military academy.
Board member Albert Benejan, the former president of the Bassick High School Parent Teacher Student Organization, said last week he is worried that housing the two schools under one roof could undermine the military academy’s structure.
“I want BMA to stay the way it is and I want Bassick to stay the way it is,” he said.
The school board approved the integration plan more than three years ago, in part to ensure military academy students have access to athletic facilities and workshop classrooms that are not currently available at the existing building.
At the time, former Superintendent Michael Testani clarified that the move would not impact the military academy’s unique programs that aim to prepare students for careers in the military or in public safety.
“This provides the entire high school experience, as well as maintaining that individuality that the Bridgeport Military has,” Testani said.
According to Anthony Stark, an architect who helped design the new school, eight classrooms and offices on the building’s third floor have been set aside for the military academy students and teachers, though he added the academy will likely also share classrooms and facilities with Bassick.
richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com.
Twitter @RichChumney.