HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-05-SMPC-min 4'7"°
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TOWN OF LEXINGTON
Ad hoc School Master Planning Committee (AhSMPC)
APPo'L I4'
Minutes
Date September 5, 2014
Place and Time- School Administration Building,Upper Level Conference Room, 8 00 A.M.
Members Present Paul Ash, Superintendent of Schools, Judy Crocker, School Committee Peter
Kelley, Board of Selectmen(BoS) Patrick Goddard, Director, Department of Public Facilities (DPF)
Jessie Steigerwald, School Committee
Members Absent Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee (PBC) Carl Oldenburg, PBC
Liaisons Present Alan Levine, Appropnation Committee
Liaisons Absent Mollie Garberg, Appropnation Committee
Semmes, Maini, and McKee Associates (SMMA) Phil Poinelli, Educational Planner
Others Present Mark Barrett, DPF
Recording Secretary Sara Arnold
Dr Ash started the meeting at 8.03 A.M.
1 Phase 1 Project Update Mr Poinelli reported that he has completed compiling the current use plans
for the middle schools and elementary schools,while equivalent plans for Lexington High School are
nearly complete Using a PowerPoint presentation,he used Bowman Elementary School (Bowman)
floor plans and data to demonstrate how spaces are being used and which spaces are 90% or smaller
than Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) guidelines Using summary material for the
elementary schools,he reported that only Estabrook Elementary School meets all MSBA guidelines
both in terms of room sizes and having enough rooms for all the programs.
Mr Poinelli explained that MSBA calculations do not factor in the way the total number of students in a
school fit into different grades and then classrooms Lexington assumes a common number of classes,
or sections,per grade in a given elementary school and then adjusts as the enrollment for each grade in
each school requires Dr Ash added that the mean age for students moving into Lexington is 10 to 11
years old, the impact is an increase in students as a class progresses through the system.
In response to questions about why schools that were built just 10 years ago are experiencing capacity
issues,Mr Poinelli noted two probable factors the School Building Assistance Program previously
managed school building guidelines for the state, thus there have likely been some adjustments to them,
plus enrollment has exceeded expectations He added that Lexington isn't required to meet MSBA
guidelines,but they help identify areas for consideration. They are a benchmark,but not the only
benchmark.
It was noted several times during the discussion that Lexington needs to meet its own standards,which
may be more stringent than MSBA's. For example, MSBA uses 23 for the average elementary class
size,but Lexington aims to average fewer than 23 students per classroom. At middle schools, the
MSBA doesn't support separate auditoriums, they consider a stage in a cafeteria or a gymnasium to be
adequate
While discussing areas of concern in some of the elementary schools, Mr Poinelli identified some
general issues that are impacting the Lexington schools
• The need for Special Education(SPED) space continues to increase the room sizes for SPED
programs appear to be okay but the number of available rooms is inadequate
• The pre-kindergarten program, located in the Harrington Elementary School, is driven by SPED
and is state-regulated. The program is at capacity The addition of one or two more children
would likely require they be accommodated out-of-district,which is expensive
• The number of SPED students that Lexington sends to the LABBB Educational Collaborative,
for which Lexington pays tuition for its students, is decreasing
• There are 29 Individual Learning Program (ILP) students at Fiske,which means they have a
seat in a general education classroom and in an ILP classroom,when in a general education
classroom they require a lot of attention.
• In some elementary schools there are two music programs, one for general music and one for
instrumental music instruction, and they need separate rooms
• Redistricting is an option for balancing space needs between schools,but this is a difficult
process and is only effective if some schools have excess capacity
• Hastings Elementary School (Hastings) is accommodating approximately 80 students in
modular buildings Because MSBA does not factor in the modular buildings in its analyses,
Hastings is well over capacity according to MSBA guidelines.
Mr Poinelli reported that current enrollment projections indicate a system-wide increase of over 500
students, including 250 elementary students, over the next five years Those 250 elementary students
translate into a need for 10 more sections
Dr Ash believes the 2014-2015 school year increase is being accommodated,but anticipates a problem
in the 2015-2016 school year Dr Ash commented that some of the elementary school districts include
buffer zones where new students can be assigned to one of two schools based on available space This
provides some flexibility
Mr Poinelli said that capacity issues at the two middle schools are not as clearly defined as at the
elementary level. They both have approximately 800 students and can handle that number however,
Clarke Middle School(Clarke) feels small and the SPED classrooms are undersized.
Bridge Elementary School and Bowman are the fastest growing elementary schools, and they both feed
into Clarke It is anticipated that Clarke will have 920 students in five years,which will require more
space or readjusting which elementary schools feed into each middle school. Mr Poinelli noted that
there is some locker room space in Clarke that is underutilized. This will be explored in the next phase
of study
There was a bnef discussion about this Committee's meeting with the School Committee on September
17th Ms Steigerwald and Ms Cocker provided some suggestions, including a request that the report
maintain a focus on all nine schools in the system.
2. Minutes A motion was made and seconded to accept the August 15, 2014 Minutes The motion
passed. VOTE 5-0
3 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9 45 A.M.
These minutes were approved on September 23, 2014
Materials distributed/used at the meeting.
Public Meeting Agenda, September 5, 2014, AhSMPC
SMMA PowerPoint slides Lexington Public Schools, Ad hoc Master Plan Committee(Capacity
Analysis Progress), September 5, 2014