Newtown Middle School (NMS) Building Committee members reviewed their scope of work and prepared to gather bids for a consultant at their Monday, October 19, meeting. The meeting was held in Room B150 of Newtown High School.

The Building Committee was established to explore the idea of building a new grades six through eight middle school. The group has to research the cost and configuration of the new school, along with planning preliminary design of the building, hiring an architect or consultant to evaluate potential sites, developing educational specifications, and other factors.

This comes after the Board of Education (BOE) voted on August 11 that the Town proceed with the middle school project and establish the appropriate building committee to oversee the project in accordance with Connecticut law. The Legislative Council (LC) voted to establish the committee at its September 16 meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti and BOE Chair Alison Plante noted that this does not necessarily mean a new school will be built; the NMS Building Committee, which held its first meeting on October 13, will research the aforementioned factors to present the project to voters, potentially at referendum.

The Building Committee is composed of 15 community members with a range of expertise, perspectives, and professional backgrounds, according to First Selectman Bruce Walczak, who is one of the group’s members.

Beyond Walczak, the group consists of LC members, BOE members, Public Building & Site Commission (PBSC) members, community members, and parents, among others. Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti, NMS Principal Jim Ross, and Facilities Director John Barlow are also on the committee.

Another member of the committee, Art Norton of the PBSC, was voted as the group's chair at its October 13 meeting. Much like they did at that meeting, Norton had everyone go around and introduce themselves to "put some names to faces" and help everyone acquaint themselves with one another.

Uberti noted all documents that led to the Monday night meeting are available to the public and have been presented at either BOE or LC meetings; they will also be available in the record of the NMS Building Committee's meetings.

Norton made a motion to add discussing the committee's charge to the group's agenda. He said he wanted to review the charge line by line and modify it if needed. This way, the committee could have these goals listed on its future agendas and dictate what they do every single meeting.

"I also want to discuss the agenda for our next meeting before we leave," Norton said. "I want to make sure that we're moving in a direction every single meeting because we do not have a lot of time together."

The NMS Building Committee also discussed the scope of services for an owner's project manager (OPM) to shepherd the group through the project development process. Before the project can go to referendum, the Town needs a defined project, with a selected site, educational program, concept design, and a credible budget with an estimate of state reimbursement.

The OPM would guide this pre-referendum phase and report to the NMS Building Committee. They would also work for the Town, not for the architect or builder, and represent the Town's interest on schedule, budget, and the state school construction grant process.

The NMS Building Committee went over its previously outlined goals for the OPM, tweaking the phrasing for each task and adding clarification as necessary.

These tasks handle: site selection and evaluation, along with criteria and conditions; traffic and access; educational specifications; programming and concept design; budget and financial analysis; consultant qualifications; duration of services; project budget; and various deliverables.

The group noted the project budget is not to exceed $50,000, and that the Town reserves the right to select the vendor that is in the best interest of the town.

The NMS Building Committee also outlined a preliminary schedule, noting that the target date for the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) School Construction Grant submission is no later than June 1, 2027; the DAS funds general school construction and renovation projects across the state through grants. The committee also noted the referendum is targeted for within 90 days of the DAS School Construction Grant closing date of June 30, 2027.

The next NMS Building Committee meeting will be held on Monday, November 16. Prior to that meeting, Barlow will speak with Town Engineer John Curtis about possible sites for a grades six through eight middle school. Other agenda items for the group's next meeting include a discussion on the status of the bids, discussion of educational specifications, and discussion and possible action on an OPM.

The committee unanimously voted that, if all of the submitted proposals exceed the $50,000 limit, Kerri Mubarek, the purchasing director for the Town of Newtown and Newtown Public Schools, will immediately redirect efforts to a Request For Proposal (RFP). The group also voted to establish a subcommittee to review the scope of work and arrange interviews with prospective bidders.

For anyone with questions about the grades six through eight middle school project, e-mail NewtownBOE@newtown.k12.ct.us.

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