Wethersfield board reviews first capital-priority list to guide inspections and budgeting

WETHERSFIELD, Conn. — Board members on Jan. 27 reviewed the district's first iteration of a capital-priority list designed to organize inspections and feed future budget decisions.

The district presented a process of twice-yearly inspections — once in spring for needs assessment and again in August before the school year opens — and asked principals to submit about seven to 15 priority items for each campus. The list will be segmented into facilities, IT and security, and the facilities committee will work to pare submissions into a district top 10 (or top 12–15) list to communicate with town officials.

"It allows the board to have some input on what the highest priorities are across the district and it makes it easy for us to communicate our needs with the town," the presenter said, urging development of a scoring system and a board dashboard to track facility scores from spring to August.

Board members raised questions about timing and coordination with the town's budget process. The presenter said the work requires a 12‑month data-gathering cycle and is intended to be presented to the facilities committee in September and the finance committee in October or November to inform next year's budget decisions.

Members noted the capital effort is a response to a recent town referendum supporting elementary facilities and described the list as part of a broader facilities stewardship plan that includes preventive maintenance and a 15–20 year master plan. The board also discussed hiring an owner's project manager and issuing an RFP for a construction manager as part of pre-construction planning for 2028 projects.