Board of Education (BOE) members unanimously voted to establish a School Facilities Planning Committee, and to accept the charge of the committee as presented, at its Tuesday, March 3, meeting.

While BOE members originally planned to meet in the Council Chambers of Newtown Municipal Center for the meeting, they instead held it virtually over Google Meet due to inclement weather on Tuesday.

BOE Chair Alison Plante said they were originally going to celebrate Sandy Hook Elementary School's Scripps Spelling Bee winners at the meeting. However, since they swapped to a virtual format, Plante said they postponed the Celebration of Excellence to a later date.

The School Facilities Planning Committee will be an ad-hoc committee under the BOE that provides a clear framework for evaluating the district's long-term facility needs in alignment with its strategic plan and Portrait of a Graduate.

Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti said the committee would ideally work from March, when it is initiated, through August 2026. It would report back to the BOE no later than September 30, 2026 with its recommendations, and then at that time, the BOE would determine whether to proceed with any next steps.

The School Facilities Planning Committee will consist of somewhere between 12 to 15 people.

While the list of committee members is not finalized at this time, it will include: Uberti, Assistant Superintendent Frank Purcaro, Director of Business and Finance Tanja Gouveia, Facilities Director John Barlow, 1-2 principals, Director of Pupil Services Deborah Mailloux-Petersen, 1-2 BOE members, a member of both the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council, and 1 to 2 teachers.

It would also include several community members or parents and First Selectman Bruce Walczak.

Uberti said people could think of it "almost like an exploration committee" that would do the groundwork of diving into documents and connecting to the community.

What this charge does not do, Uberti said, is authorize a capital project, feasibility study, or construction imitative.

Instead, Uberti said it creates a framework for reviewing the existing data on the district's buildings, engage the district's stakeholders, and identify priorities that may warrant further exploration.

"The overarching goal of the community is to support thoughtful, data-informed, and fiscally responsible long-term facilities decision-making while maintaining clear governance boundaries and shared ownership with the board," Uberti said.

This comes after the BOE received the final report from Connecticut-based planning firm MP Planning Group in mid-November; the group conducted a ten-year projected enrollment and space capacity study for Newtown Public Schools District.

Plante said there was broad consensus among the BOE at the time, and that this warranted further study and a master planning effort. They also paused this discussion to shift focus to the budget.

Now with the budget behind them, Plante said they are turning their attention back to the Facilities Planning Committee so they could look into those reports in more depth and come back with a recommendation.

BOE member Melissa Beylouni asked how quickly Uberti expected the committee to start. Uberti said she would like the form the committee this month, and has received a lot of outreach from local parents and community members who expressed interest in participating.

She added that vision setting and community engagement are big pieces through the facilities planning process.

"We really need to make sure that the community is aware of what we're talking about and has an opportunity for input before we go down any concrete path," Uberti explained.

If the committee kicked off in March, Uberti believed it give them allow a reasonable amount of time to do the work that is laid out.

BOE member Chris Gilson asked if they already have the necessary information to build the vision and make recommendations.

Uberti said she thinks they have the hard data; the area where they are lacking is in stakeholder feedback and communication.

She added that the BOE, along with some other town boards, already know what they are talking about. However, if the committee did choose to do some kind of renovation project, Uberti said "you don't want to find yourself communicating that to the public on the back-end of this [process]."

She added, "These are the community schools, so I think it's important that we engage them. That part has not happened, so I think that's a big piece of this phase as well."

Stop-Arm Enforcement Policy

The BOE unanimously voted to authorize the installation and operation of a school bus violation detection system operated on behalf of Newtown Public Schools, along with a request to the Legislative Council to adopt the ordinance and enable municipal enforcement of violations captured by such systems.

Uberti and grants coordinator Judit DeStefano, along with BusPatrol manager Brad MacDowall, spoke to the Legislative Council about stop-arm enforcement technology at its February 25 meeting.

The superintendent previously shared how the district is exploring the implementation of a school bus stop-arm enforcement program at the BOE's February 18 meeting.

The program uses smart cameras, which are mounted on buses and that capture vehicles that pass a bus while the stop-arm is extended, and is designed to reduce the illegal passing of stopped school buses.

At the mid-February BOE meeting, DeStefano noted the technology is AI-driven and captures information such as the make, model, and license plate of the offending driver. This information is later reviewed by people who determine if it is a ticketable offense.

Uberti felt their recent presentation to the Legislative Council was really well received. She added that that there was a unanimous vote to charge the ordinance committee to write and consider the proposed stop-arm enforcement technology, with the goal of delivering said ordinance by this April.

"That would allow us to work over the summer to outfit our buses with the technology for a potential start at the next school year, so we'll see how that goes," Uberti said.

She also extended her gratitude to the community for their patience and support, as they have been navigating really challenging weather over the past several weeks.

"I especially wanted to thank our transportation, facilities, and custodial teams, because what they've had to do in the past few weeks is incredible," Uberti said. "It's just been very difficult, and I appreciate all of the support from parents and staff, and I'm really appreciative of the people who make it possible for our schools to open."

When Uberti brought the proposal forward at the last BOE meeting, Plante felt there was broad consensus within the board that this was something they wanted to pursue.

"This wasn't necessarily required, I think you could argue this is more operation work and so wouldn't necessarily require board action, but I thought it made sense just to formalize our approval and agreement," Plante said.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.