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Board agrees to use remaining Colliers contract hours, schedules community forums on consolidated high school plan
Summary
At the March 10 operations meeting the Wallingford School District said it has about $7,000 of unused Colliers contract funds available to support community forums on the consolidated high school educational specifications and asked CABE to facilitate; dates and formats were tentatively set pending school availability and IT capability.
Superintendent Belizzi told the operations meeting on March 10 that the district’s contract with Colliers includes 45 communication hours and about $7,000 of unused funds that can cover Colliers’ attendance at community forums related to the consolidated high school educational specifications.
The board said it wants Colliers available to answer technical questions about the ed‑specs but prefers a third‑party facilitator for the public sessions. Several trustees suggested asking CABE (the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education) to serve as a neutral facilitator at no additional per‑event charge beyond the district’s membership, with Colliers available to respond to technical questions.
Why it matters: The community forums are intended to gather public feedback on the educational specifications that will guide a possible consolidated high‑school project. Who facilitates and how the forums are structured — auditorium Q&A, small breakout groups, or hybrid formats — will affect who participates and how the district collects and archives public input.
Superintendent Belizzi said the district did not use all contracted hours with Colliers and that “we have 45 hours in the contract…we have not used 45 hours in the contract. So I think we have $9,900 in there, and we will have approximately $7,000 remaining in terms of…that line item.” Belizzi added Colliers staff (named in discussion as Chuck Warrington and Scott Pelham) are “happy to be there to answer questions as it relates to the specifics of the ed specs…they can definitely answer that.”
Board members debated format, timing and accessibility. Dr. Reed asked about start times and proposed a 6 p.m. start; several trustees recommended 6:30 p.m. as a compromise. Mr. Ross and others objected to scheduling a forum on April 9 because that evening conflicts with Lyman Hall’s National Honor Society induction, and multiple trustees asked Belizzi to check school availability before finalizing dates.
The board tentatively agreed on two sessions to reach different audiences: a weekday evening at Lyman Hall and a Saturday morning session at Sheehan (Superintendent Belizzi said she would check building availability for Saturday April 5 or April 26). Trustees also discussed times and suggested 6:30–8:30 p.m. for the weekday and 10 a.m.–noon for the Saturday option.
Trustees debated auditorium Q&A versus small breakout groups. Mrs. Versace and others favored breakout formats focused on specific prompts (for example, “what are the most important features of an ideal learning environment?”) to collect substantive feedback; Mr. Ross and Mr. Votto argued a single‑room Q&A would let attendees hear the same information and each other’s questions. Superintendent Belizzi and the district’s technology contact warned hybrid (simultaneous livestream plus in‑room breakouts) is technically difficult and that small‑group sessions require a method to record and aggregate feedback for the public record.
On facilitation, Mrs. Reinis said CABE has run similar sessions and “is a nonpartisan third party,” and several trustees voiced support for asking CABE to facilitate while keeping Colliers on hand for technical answers. Dr. Reed added that “as long as they’re fully updated and filled in on everything, I think that’s great.”
Next steps: Superintendent Belizzi will confirm school availability and IT feasibility, reach out to CABE for facilitation availability, and report back to the board with firm dates and a recommended structure. The board also moved (and approved by consensus) to reorder the agenda so the district project updates item (4.4) could be discussed earlier in the meeting, allowing the forum discussion to proceed immediately.
The board did not adopt a final forum structure or firm, published dates at the March 10 meeting; trustees asked staff to return with confirmed locations, times and whether livestreaming with public submission of questions can be supported.
