Weston's Board of Education wants to hire a firm to explain the proposed new Weston Middle School to residents and to act as the project's spokesperson at public meetings, through the townwide vote the district expects in November 2027.
It has not said what it will pay. Asked by a prospective bidder whether the board had set a budget, the district answered: "Not yet." At a committee meeting on Oct. 16, Board of Education Chair Deborah Low said a communications consultant was "not something we budgeted for." Chief Financial and Operations Officer Phillip Cross said he thought the expense would qualify for the district's non-lapsing account, where the schools can set aside money left over at the end of a budget year.
The request for proposals, dated Oct. 26 and posted on the district's website, says proposals are due by 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, and that the board "tentatively intends to award the bid by November 20th."
The district told bidders it has not done any public opinion research or community surveys on the project. A draft schedule the town's three governing boards reviewed in September gave a communication plan, a project website and a community survey as examples of outreach for a window that runs from October 2026 through January 2027.
Spokesperson as well as adviser
In written answers to bidders' questions, posted Oct. 27, the district was asked whether the firm would mainly advise or take "a more active role as a public-facing spokesperson and facilitator at community meetings." Its answer: "The consultant will act in both roles." The district said it does not know yet how many meetings that will mean.
The request asks for a consultant to "serve as an external representative of the project, helping residents understand the educational, facilities, and financial considerations involved." The firm would write fact sheets, frequently asked questions, presentations, newsletters and website material; help explain the project's cost, financing, potential state reimbursement and "estimated taxpayer impacts"; represent the project at public meetings; field residents' questions; and run public discussions.
The district also told bidders it has no staff for graphic design, website updates, email, social media or community outreach, and asked them to price those services into their fees.
Everything it writes would need the board's approval before release, and the firm "shall not independently establish Board policy or make commitments on behalf of the Board."
The work is split into three phases: assessment and planning, carrying out the plan, and preparing for the referendum. The board "may authorize phases separately based on project needs, performance, and available funding," the request says.
Sent out without a board vote
The Board of Education "has voted to pursue a new middle school," the request says, and the town's boards are working toward a townwide vote that the draft schedule sets for Nov. 2, 2027. At their Sept. 24 joint meeting, the cost under discussion for a new middle school was put at $120 million to $130 million.
Low first asked the town's three boards on Sept. 24 to hire outside help for state lobbying and community engagement. At the Oct. 16 committee meeting, she raised hiring communications help as something the school board could do on its own, and on Monday, Oct. 19, she brought it to the full board. Hiring a lobbyist to press the state "really is more of a town function," she said, but the school board can hire communications help, and "we've got sort of attorney clearance to do that."
"People in Weston still don't know what's going on," one board member said that night. "We're not professional marketers or communicators."
The board took no vote. "There's no contract in front of us," Low said, and asked Superintendent Erica Forti and Cross to put out the request. She said she hoped the board could look at what came back by its next meeting, Monday, Nov. 16.
At a Board of Finance public comment session on Thursday, Oct. 29, a resident asked when the town would hold community conversations about the school project. Board of Finance Chair Michael Imber said the Board of Education "is putting out an RFP right now to hire a communications consultant." The conversations "haven't been calendared yet," he said. He said he is hoping for one in early December, before the holidays, and probably another in January.
The Board of Education's communication committee had discussed on Oct. 2 holding public question-and-answer sessions with the Board of Finance as soon as late October.