Board authorizes chair to invite town council to a facilitated joint meeting on high school planning

The Wallingford Board of Education voted on Dec. 16 to authorize the chair to invite the town council, mayor and superintendent to a facilitated joint meeting to discuss the high school project and related process questions.

Board members debated format and scope for roughly an hour: proponents argued a neutral facilitator would keep the discussion focused and public, citing CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education) as a potential no-cost facilitator with experience mediating similar town-level building discussions. "There's an opportunity to see maybe where they think," the chair said while explaining the intent to get town and board members on the same page.

Opponents warned a standing committee could become politicized or be perceived as an advisory body making decisions the board must reserve for itself. One member urged caution: "I don't want them advising us... We are the people running the education system," he said, expressing concern about mixing governance roles. Several board members proposed treating the first meeting as a single facilitated session to establish ground rules, after which participants could decide whether additional meetings were necessary.

After discussion the board approved the motion to invite and pursue a facilitated joint meeting; the chair will approach town-council leadership and report back. The motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript as a set of affirmative responses; the chair stated "Motion carries."