New Haven Independent

“With great pride,” said the BOE’s Chief Administrative Officer Robin Golden at Monday’s meeting, “I bring to you our proposed agreement with Susan E. Weisselberg, Esq., of Weisselberg Consulting, LLC … to provide Consulting Services to the School Construction Program, for the period July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, in the amount not to exceed $98,500.

“There isn’t a construction czar,” added Golden “in the state of Connecticut who does more than Sue.”

Weisselberg began her association with the board as a part-timer 12 years ago, in 1995, on the eve of Mayor DeStefano’s ambitious school construction program. Gradually her responsibilities have increased so that now, in her 12th year of the association, the BOE is Weisselberg’s primary client. She rides herd over all current school construction from design to opening day; shepherds and coordinates planned projects not only through the sensitive community and aldermanic approval process, but also the complex submissions to Hartford, which ultimately funds the lion’s share of the costs, if done right. And in Weisselberg’s capable hands, things are done right.

The $1.5 billion program is the state’s largest.
She took a few minutes before Monday’s meeting to discuss ways in which her personal life and that of her work with the BOE dovetailed. “For me one of the most interesting aspects has been being a parent to kids in a school system that I’m helping to renovate in this important way.”

Weisselberg has two sons, Nick and Peter, both of whom have been students in the NHPS. “My older son was in kindergarten when I started with the BOE,” she said, “and now he’ll be graduating from Wilbur Cross. I was a parent at Conte West Hills when we were working on that school, so I look at all these projects not only from the perspective here, but also as a parent. Thinking about driveways and drop-off points for kids and things like that. It’s been very interesting.”

Her younger son, Peter, age 15, also went to Conte but decided he wanted to try a private school experience as well. “So he’s at Hopkins now,” Weisselberg said, with a certain wistful tone in her voice, not quite sadness, but as if a slight bewilderment that any child of hers could possibly be at a school that she didn’t know from the blueprints to chimneys.

Then the phone rang, and Weisselberg said, “I’ll eat leftovers. No problem.” She was relaxed and not holding the highly organized sheaf of papers with which she is usually seen. She had taken off half a day to see her Nick play baseball; these days he’s holding down first base for Cross. And tomorrow is his birthday, which the BOE’s czar will definitely be coordinating as well.

Then the call came in for the meeting to begin. Weisselberg’s contract was unanimously approved to be passed along for the full board for renewal. Had standing ovations been allowed, one would have occurred.