Ceremonial Groundbreaking for Stamford's J.M. Wright Technical High School

State and city officials hosted a ceremonial ground breaking Thursday at the grounds of the J.M. Wright Technical High School just off Scalzi Park. 

On hand for the event were a host of state delegates, including Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Dr. Nivea L. Torres, Interim Superintendent of the Connecticut Technical High School system. Also on hand were Stamford mayoral candidates Democrat David Martin and Republican Michael Fedele, who would go on to square off in the first of five currently scheduled debates later Thursday evening. 

"Today, we take an important step toward the creation of a career and technical education school hat will have a transformative effect on the Stamford community and the southwestern region of the state," Torres said. "It is important to note that all of our technical high schools are instrumental in addressing workforce and education needs across the state."

The complete renovation of the existing school included new entrances, a gymnasium, offices and administrative areas, classrooms, lab areas, kitchens, a cafeteria, media center, a tiered lecture hall and a new roof. The additions and renovations bring the structure to approximately 200,000 square feet with 200 on-site parking spaces. The total renovation costs are expected to be $90,230,992. The project is on track to be completed in May 2014. 

Torres said Wright Tech would be the first time students would be able to "embark on a career pathway in a program of study in a technical field that aligns with post-secondary education and leads to an Associate Degree or post-secondary certificate for employment." She said the school hopes to create a career-oriented environment for students attending grades 9 through 14. 

It was an important day for Stamford's future, said Malloy, who brought a lot of energy to a groundbreaking for which he said he was excited. He said the school should have never closed or been allowed to deteriorate "to the extend it did."

"This is important stuff," Malloy said. "Getting education right is extremely important. We weren't doing it for a long time. We are doing it now. Just this last year, high school graduation rates increased by 2.3-percent. An unprecedented amount in a single year. [...] We're going to get this right. We're going to win this battle. We're going to grow our economy. We're going to add jobs and this is an investment that allows that to happen in the future."

Check out the video above for scenes from today's groundbreaking.