Over this past summer, the Westport Public School district completed a partial repaving of some Westport schools’ parking lots including Staples’ potholes. The roads near the fieldhouse and pool were repaved, but the other parking lots and circulating roads around the school were not. Those roads were last paved over a decade ago, according to Principal Stafford W. Thomas Jr. 

“Paving projects have been collaboratively designed and implemented through a joint effort between the town and schools,” a March 2022 Board of Education project packet stated. “The next phase of planned paving includes parking lot repaving, curbing and sidewalk improvements at Bedford Middle School and Staples High School.”

According to notes from that meeting, a project estimated to cost around $1.4 million began in June of this year, with work being completed before the first day of school. 

Thomas said that paving the entirety of the parking lot was at one time on the schedule, but was taken off and not completed due to unspecified conditions, with Thomas speculating it may have been due to another job. 

The original repaving plans, found in a memo from Westport Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice, shows there was an initial intention to pave more of Staples, including the pool lot, the access road off of North Avenue and parking areas south of the field house. It also gives the original timetable for when all of the school’s various lots would be repaved. But the plans were altered due to the delays.

“[Peter Ratkiewich, Director of Public Works] projects that the remainder of the Staples parking areas and access roads will be completed in 2023,” Scarice said.

Regardless of the reasons behind the incomplete paving projects, students are voicing frustration and confusion, including Asher Dahlke ’23, one of the very seniors using these roads to drive to school. He believes that if the district had all the resources, they should have taken care of repaving Staples’ entire campus but understands the lack of resources available at the moment. In the future, though, he believes the whole lot should be completed as soon as possible.