Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Community Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves community forums to review high‑school educational specifications
Summary
The Wallingford Board of Education approved a facilitated community‑forum format to gather public input on high‑school educational specifications and set dates for two sessions in April and May.
The Wallingford Board of Education voted March 24 to hold publicly facilitated community forums to collect input on educational specifications for the district’s two high schools.
Board members approved a format recommended by Nick Caruso of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) that emphasizes a question‑and‑answer, whole‑group approach with a trained outside facilitator to ensure equitable opportunity to speak. Superintendent Belizzi and board members said the sessions will be scheduled in school cafeterias (not auditoriums) to encourage a conversational atmosphere, will be televised and will include childcare for parents who register in advance.
Board members said the format aims to let the public ask focused questions about the educational specifications — the programmatic description of instructional spaces and needs, not architectural design — while allowing experts to answer. Colliers, the district’s consultant, was identified as the likely source for technical answers about capacity and logistics; superintendent Belizzi said Colliers will send a representative to both meetings.
The board set the first forum for Wednesday, April 23 at Lyman Hall High School from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the second for Saturday, May 3 at Mark T. Sheehan High School from 10 a.m. to noon. The board asked that the sessions include a short opener explaining what “educational specifications” cover (examples mentioned: pool, planetarium, shared instructional spaces) and that the facilitator manage speaking times to prevent any one person from monopolizing discussion.
Board members and staff discussed logistics: hosting the meetings in cafeterias so board members sit at the same level as attendees; providing printed materials or a projected screen to reference the educational‑specs document during Q&A; and recruiting student volunteers through high school guidance offices to staff registered childcare. The board also authorized translating and distributing flyers and using ParentSquare, town channels and community partners to publicize the sessions.
The board motion to adopt the forum format passed with all members voting in favor.
