The Norwich Board of Education voted 9–1 to hire DRA Architects to design both the new Teachers Middle School and the renovation of the Huntington Central Office.

The decision followed an executive session to review RFP scoring. Bill Hull moved to hire DRA for both projects and Stacy Gould seconded. After discussion, the board took a roll-call vote; the chair announced the motion passed 9–1 in favor.

Susan, superintendent of Norwich Public Schools, read a prepared statement saying, “Norwich Public Schools has had the privilege of working with DRA architects over the past 2 years on 4 of our major school building projects. … Their ability to listen, to, you know, adapt and deliver, what I think is high quality work has made them a valued and trusted partner.” The superintendent noted DRA’s collaboration with staff and project partners and referenced the firm’s work with the Moriarty building team.

Board members and staff who spoke during the public session emphasized continuity and familiarity as reasons to select DRA. Mark Bettencourt said DRA had already begun work on the project by helping to prepare the grant application and had designed the district master plan. Another board member noted DRA came in under the district’s budgeted architecture numbers for the project. Mark Lewis commented that DRA conducted the original assessments for the Huntington Building and therefore “have that deep knowledge of that building.”

One board member suggested interviewing other top-ranked firms before finalizing a selection, saying several firms were capable and interviews could reveal potential savings. The board proceeded to a roll-call vote and approved DRA by the announced 9–1 margin.

Action details recorded in the meeting minutes show the motion to hire DRA applied to both the new Teachers Middle School and the Huntington Central Office renovation. The record does not specify contract amount, schedule, or funding breakdown; those details were not provided in the public discussion and are therefore not reported here.

With the vote recorded and no other business on the special meeting agenda, the board moved to adjourn and the meeting concluded.