Bricks and Mortar: 04/02/2026

Board of Education Special Meetings, March 23 and 30, 2026

A meeting summary for Weston residents prepared by the Board of Education Communications Committee.

Background

This meeting summary includes what the BOE discussed on March 23, 2026 and March 30, 2026. The BOE provided opportunities for public comment at both meetings.

To learn more, you can watch the March 23, 2026 meeting here and March 30, 2026 meeting here.

What We Learned at the Meetings

March 23, 2026 Meeting

• SLAM Collaborative (SLAM), an architecture firm that specializes in school construction and design, and Colliers, the District’s representative that helps with the state grant process, answered questions that BOE members had submitted in advance.
• Colliers compared different timelines for seeking project funding approval (e.g. different dates for town referendum and grant application submission to the State), including how each option would affect planning, public support, and costs.

March 30, 2026 Meeting

● Traditional Renovation (“Little r”, not Renovate as New)

○ The District shared pricing and considerations to repair the issues in the middle school and make other modifications.

■ 2017 estimated cost: approximately $37.5 million

■ Includes replacement of building systems, upgrades to infrastructure, and updates to the gym, locker rooms, and some classrooms.

■ Does not qualify for any state reimbursement, and any renovations would be considered as part of the BOE’s annual capital budget.

■ Does not require a grant application to the State or a special town referendum.

■ New building systems typically last about 20 years. The building itself is structurally sound and will likely last longer.

● District representatives discussed the capital improvement plan for the entire campus.

● BOE members voted to (i) approve the Education Specifications (Ed Specs), which is a written plan for what the renovated or new middle school should include, and (ii) recommend that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Board of Finance (BOF) consider SLAM’s Phase 1 and 2 reports and consider the comparative timelines for the grant application, referendum and construction of a new Weston Middle School.

What’s Next?

The District will share the Ed Specs and information from SLAM and Colliers to the BOF and the BOS. The BOS and BOF will review the information and schedule a tri-board meeting with the BOE to determine next steps. The BOE will also explore options to (i) reduce the estimated probable cost to build a new middle school, and (ii) renovate the existing middle school in case building a new middle school is not approved.

Where We’ve Been So Far

Education Specifications

In May 2024, the BOE developed and approved Ed Specs.

State Reimbursement Process

At the December 1, 2025 special meeting, SLAM and Colliers explained how the state grant process works in order to receive state reimbursement for school construction.

Town and District Capital Improvements

First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor joined the January 7, 2026 special meeting to share information about the Town’s capital projects, and the District administration presented its 10-year capital improvement plan for other campus needs in addition to the middle school.

Grade Configurations

District administration presented a comparative analysis of grade configuration models at the February 2, 2026 general meeting.

SLAM Phase II Investigation

At the February 23, 2026 meeting, SLAM presented their Phase II investigation of the middle school.

Renovate as New vs Build New Middle School

At the March 2, 2026 meeting, BOE members agreed that building a new middle school is preferable to renovating the existing middle school. They agreed that more work is needed to try and reduce the estimated probable cost to Weston.

Reduced Estimated Probable Cost

At the March 16, 2026 meeting, SLAM reduced their estimated probable cost to build a new middle school. They also shared information about different grade configurations in a new middle school and at Weston Intermediate School.

Previous Bricks and Mortar Summaries

Read the summary of the December 1, 2025 and January 7, 2026 meetings.

Read the summary of the February 23, 2026 meeting.

Read the summary of the March 2, 2026 meeting.

Read the summary of the March 16, 2026 meeting.

All Campus Revitalization Information Gathered to Date

Visit the Campus Revitalization section of the District website to see all prior studies, meetings, presentations, and newsletters.

The BOE Communications Committee will continue to issue summaries of the special meetings on this topic. The next meeting will be posted on the district website at www.westonps.org.