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Newtown facilities committee presses consultants for clearer community‑engagement plans
Summary
At a May 4 meeting, the Newtown Board of Education Ad Hoc Facilities Planning Committee heard a four‑phase proposal from EdAdvance, raised concerns that digital‑only outreach could miss 6,000 households, and assigned follow‑up tasks to clarify consultant roles and produce a public executive summary.
The Newtown Board of Education Ad Hoc Facilities Planning Committee on May 4, 2026 heard a presentation from Jonathan Costa of EdAdvance outlining a four‑phase facilitation process intended to build community consensus around school facility options. Superintendent Anne Uberti called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM and led the committee through a review of consultant proposals.
Costa presented a methodology that begins with defining high‑level educational, financial and community criteria, moves to stipulating shared facts such as enrollment and building condition data, generates a broad list of facility options, and concludes with decision‑making that incorporates public feedback through a 'forced choice' model and the ThoughtExchange platform. The committee praised ThoughtExchange as a tool for collecting qualitative input but questioned whether EdAdvance could provide sufficient staffing for a town‑wide engagement effort.
First Selectman Bruce Walczak warned that relying on digital outreach alone could exclude a substantial portion of residents, noting the town has '6,000 households without students' that might not be reached through online channels. Committee members cited past planning efforts in 2014–2015 involving Hawley School and a proposed 8–9 middle school configuration as examples where engagement late in the process contributed to community opposition. The committee agreed that upfront public education and release of a clear 'fact pattern' would be prerequisite to any feedback solicitation.
Members also evaluated the three firms interviewed to date and expressed disappointment that STV’s presentation appeared to shift from an earlier community‑led emphasis toward a technical, project‑management focus. In response, the committee assigned a set of follow‑up steps: Superintendent Anne Uberti will contact DMG to discuss a scaled‑down communications proposal that retains core outreach functions; Uberti will also debrief with Jonathan Costa about expanding EdAdvance’s communications and reporting capacity; she will request clarification from STV about the apparent change in emphasis; Board member Shannon Tomai will draft a digestible executive summary of facilities data for public distribution; and the committee scheduled its next meeting for May 28, 2026.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the minutes. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 PM.
