2015-12-07-AC-STM#1-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE - NOVEMBER 2015 STM #1 Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations The request under Article 2 funds a continuation of design work approved at the March 2015 Special Town Meeting, but it is important for Town Meeting members to understand Article 2 in a larger context. This request arises from an urgent and ongoing process to improve the Town's school facilities in re- sponse to growing student enrollment. For well over a year, the School Committee has been exploring and refining options to renovate and /or extend existing buildings, and to construct new buildings as part of a long -term capital plan. This work has been done in close cooperation with Town staff, an architectural consulting firm, the Permanent Building Committee, the Capital Expenditures Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and this Committee. The School Department has established a clear need for additional classrooms and related educational spaces, even after all available spaces have been deployed for classrooms, pushing art and music out of dedicated spaces. The School Department also intends to redistrict elementary school students so that existing classrooms are used efficiently, and overcrowding is alleviated to the extent possible. Meanwhile, the Town must support the maintenance and replacement of school building systems that have reached their end -of -life status. School Committee Plan As of November 17, 2015, the School Committee made the following official recommendations: • Keep the Lexington Children's Place (LCP), the Town's Pre -K program, at Harrington for now and, as LCP enrollments grow, allow LCP to use existing classrooms at the Central Office build- ing (old Harrington). No space for the LCP will be leased at Minuteman Tech. • Renovate and add new space to increase the capacity of both middle schools to accommodate ex- pected enrollment increases. • Replace Hastings Elementary School with a new 30 classroom building, with or without MSBA support. • Lease 6 standard modular classrooms, 2 at Bridge, 2 at Bowman, and 2 at Fiske, for up to ten years. • Upgrade the Diamond Middle School and Lexington High School HVAC systems. • Acquire the 8 -acre property at 20 Pelham Road for future use, possibly as a site for a new LCP, a relocated Central Office, or an elementary school. The two School Committee recommendations below would likely require no appropriations before the summer of 2016: • Construct a new LCP once a suitable permanent location has been found. • Plan for renovations and a phased project at Lexington High School (LHS) to add capacity and relieve overcrowding that may occur as the LHS enrollment increases. 2