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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-23-SMPC-min 4'7"° aM°"1''G TOWN OF LEXINGTON Ad hoc School Master Planning Committee (AhSMPC) APPo'L I4' Minutes Date September 23, 2014 Place and Time- School Administration Building, Lower Level Conference Room 2A, 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) Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee (PBC) Carl Oldenburg, PBC Jessie Steigerwald, School Committee Members Absent none Liaisons Present Rod Cole, Capital Expenditures Committee Alan Levine, Appropnation Committee Liaisons Absent Mollie Garberg, Appropnation Committee Others Present Tom Diaz, Precinct 4 Town Meeting member Tim Dunn, Precinct 8 Town Meeting member Kate Colburn, Precinct 4 Town Meeting member Recording Secretary Sara Arnold Dr Ash started the meeting at 8.05 A.M. 1 Review of Reports Presented to School Committee and Next Steps Dr Ash reported that the Enrollment Working Group and Symmes, Maini, and McKee Associates (SMMA), the Town's consultant for this project,presented reports to the School Committee last week. He observed that there is a clear need for additional capacity in the schools in the long term and current enrollment projections indicate a need for more space in the near future It is important for this Committee to identify next steps and begin to develop recommendations for the School Committee After discussing the validity of the enrollment projections in the reports and considering alternative approaches, it was generally agreed that although different methodologies, or different combinations of methodologies, result in different outcomes, all methods indicate that Lexington will experience considerable enrollment increases that require additional capacity within the next five years Additionally,the enrollment projections coupled with the current lack of capacity at five of the six elementary schools suggest a need for additional classroom space starting in September 2015 Although Estabrook Elementary School has excess capacity, even re-districting cannot relieve the pressure at the other elementary schools. It was noted that Lexington is not going to change its teacher/student ratio policy to address the issues If an appropriation is needed to create additional space for the 2015-2016 school year, it will be necessary to make such a request at a Special Town Meeting as soon as possible Mr Goddard complimented both reports,noting that both are forward looking He added that the Town successfully absorbed 500 additional students over the past five years, and that these reports illustrate the need to absorb an additional 500 students over the next five years He commented that, from a broad perspective, the Town needs to incorporate safety valves and strategies to address enrollment changes Discussion Relating to Short Term Lack of Capacity Ms Crocker, Ms. Steigerwald, and Dr Ash identified a variety of strategies for addressing the immediate demand. • increase the numbers of teachers and students in existing classrooms, • convert art and/or music rooms into general classroom space and have art and/or music taught in the general classrooms,using carts to transport the educational materials needed, • convert part of a gymnasium into space for art and/or music, thus reducing space for indoor physical education activities, • add modular classrooms and/or convert space in the school administration building for some or all of the pre-kindergarten program that is currently in Harrington Elementary School (Hamngton) Redistncting was generally accepted as a necessity in all scenarios,partially because Estabrook Elementary School has four extra classrooms that should be used. It was reported that Phil Porcelli, Educational Planner for SMMA,believes that using art and music rooms for classroom space is acceptable for a short term, temporary solution, and he therefore does not believe additional space is needed. By contrast,parents are expressing strong opposition to losing art and music rooms, and the School Committee has recently opposed this approach as well. Ms. Steigerwald said she did not support the School Committee's opposition. One issue for the School Committee is its desire to maintain panty in the schools Increasing the number of students and teachers in a classroom is currently being done in one school,but this is not seen as a viable solution for addressing the anticipated enrollment increases until a long term solution is put into effect. Mr Goddard estimated that it would take several improvements to renovate the School Administration Building to accommodate students and approximately $650,000 to add two permanent modular classrooms Another option is to lease classrooms,which would require, at a minimum, $400,000 for two classrooms He said that it takes more time to purchase and install permanent modulars than to lease modulars, and the inventory for leasing modular units is best in the summer and fall, the quality of available units is decreasing rapidly at this time of year Mr Goddard agreed to ask SMMA to calculate costs and evaluate various scenarios to determine how well they alleviate the short term capacity issues The scenarios will include • Using modulars and determining where those modulars could go • Moving pre-kindergarten students into the School Administration Building and converting the space they are now using in Harrington into general classrooms Dr Ash noted that in this scenano, as many as four new general classrooms and some other ancillary space would be available in Hamngton,but he expressed concern about the loss of space in the School Administration Building that is critical to providing educational support for the schools • Moving only part of the pre-kindergarten program into the School Administration Building and adding some modulars It was noted that the School Committee needs to understand the pros and cons for each scenano The information provided by SMMA will be used by this Committee to develop a recommendation about how to move forward. It was noted that a STM could be held in January because the Town does not have any pressing financial issues that require a fall STM,however, it was reiterated that the options for purchasing or leasing modulars for the 2015-2016 school year become increasingly problematic and less attractive as time passes Mr Kelley expressed concern for the taxpayer and questioned whether the Town should/would support funding a short term solution. It was also noted that short term solutions should not negatively impact long term plans for addressing the anticipated enrollment over the next five years It was noted that the School Committee has two issues to consider • The use of art and music rooms for classroom space and • Redistncting Their thoughts will help inform this Committee Discussion Relating to Long Term Lack of Capacity Dr Ash reported on the School Department's proposal to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) requesting financial assistance to replace the Mana Hastings Elementary School(Hastings) The decision is expected in December Dr Ash recently spoke to the administrator who helps evaluate these proposals There are 108 proposals, and it is expected that 16 of them will get funded. Category 1 projects,which relate to safety,will get the highest priority Hastings is a Category 2 project,justified by the need for additional capacity Hastings already has modulars,which the MSBA does not factor into its capacity calculations, thus, on paper, Hastings appears to be more crowded than it is in practice In an effort to get Hastings to the top of the Category 2 list, Dr Ash plans to submit the Enrollment Working Group's report to the MSBA to supplement the previously submitted material. The Enrollment Working Group did not use the standard methodology for predicting enrollment because experience indicates that the standard method under- estimates reality at the elementary level in Lexington. Dr Ash believes that the MSBA will find the Enrollment Working Group's analysis to be interesting and worth considering 2. Minutes A motion was made and seconded to accept the September 5, 2014 Minutes. The motion passed. VOTE 7-0 3 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9 45 A.M. These minutes were approved on October23, 2014 Materials distributed/used at the meeting. Public Meeting Agenda, September 23, 2014, AhSMPC SMMA PowerPoint slides Lexington Public Schools, Ad hoc Schools Master Plan Committee, School Committee Progress Report, September 17, 2014 Report of the Enrollment Working Group, 2019 School Enrollment Forecast, September 15, 2014 Enrollment Working Group PowerPoint slides September 2019 Enrollment Projection, Progress Report of the Ad hoc Enrollment Working Group, 16 September 2014, PowerPoint slides 3