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Home My WebLink About2014-12-04-SMPC-min „0,PMCrXi p4„,t1 pad"• "Kb� TOWN OF LEXINGTON . , Ad hoc School Master Planning Committee (AhSMPC) am�su.ue> .r, Minutes Date December 4, 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 Patrick Goddard, Director, Department of Public Facilities (DPF) Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee (PBC) Carl Oldenburg, PBC Bill Hurley, School Committee Member Absent Peter Kelley, Board of Selectmen (BoS) Liaisons Present Rod Cole, Capital Expenditures Committee Glenn Parker for Alan Levine, Appropnation Committee Liaisons Absent Mollie Garberg, Appropnation Committee Semmes, Maini, and McKee Associates (SMMA) Phil Poinelli Educational Planner Alex Pitkin Kate Jessup Others Present Jessie Steigerwald, School Committee Mark Barrett, DPF Kate Colburn, Lexington Parents Advocacy Group(LPAG), Sandy Beebee, LPAG Christina Lin, Bowman Parent Teacher Association(PTA) Kathleen Lenihan, Clarke Parent Teacher Organization, Lexington High School Parent Teacher Student Association, LPAG Katie Wipke, LPAG Patricia Valda, Bowman PTA, Claire Sheth, LPAG Recording Secretary Sara Arnold Mr Hurley opened the meeting at 8 01 a.m. It was noted that Ms Crocker and Mr Hurley are serving as co- chairs and will rotate who chairs the meetings 1 SMMA Update on Phase III Master Plan Using a PowerPoint presentation, Mr Poinelli reviewed options for addressing increasing enrollment that were identified during the AhSMPC November 11, 2014 meeting. He discussed the issues associated with two school configurations for which this Committee had requested additional information, as follows • Kindergarten through Grade 4 Elementary Schools and Grades 5 through 8 Middle Schools This requires building a third middle school. Analysis shows that this is not a viable option for Lexington for two reasons. Although the Hamngton Elementary School (Harrington) site could accommodate a second elementary school, it is not adequate for adding a middle school,nor is there any other School Department site that could do so If the middle school projected enrollment is split equally between three middle schools, • the nght sizing process,using Lexington s class size polic\ to identth the number of students that can be accommodated in standard-size classrooms, demonstrates that Clarke Middle School(Clarke) is not large enough, and • Diamond Middle School (Diamond)would be handling more students than are currently enrolled at the school. • The nght sizing of Clarke's tnangular classrooms would likely not take place for a long time • Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten Early Childhood Center This requires building a facility similar to the size of Estabrook Elementary School. Additional comments included. This would remove all kindergarten classrooms from all schools and would include adding some additional classrooms to accommodate enrollment increases, resulting in 26 classrooms for kindergarteners plus an area needed for an enlarged PreK. A new facility could be constructed on the Hamngton site where the current school administration building is located,but this requires finding space for the school administration offices The cost without Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) assistance is estimated at $40 to $50 million. There were comments and discussions as follows. • A school can be built to accommodate different numbers of sections (i e, classrooms per grade) Dr Ash expressed his preference for 4.5 sections in the elementary schools to provide flexibility when accommodating the ups and downs of enrollment at each grade level • Although it is expected that Hastings Elementary School will be renovated or rebuilt with or without MSBA assistance, adding a new(10th) school into the system includes operational expenses as well as the cost of the building Getting taxpayer support could be a challenge Mr Poinelli discussed three options that are under consideration for accommodating the pre-kindergarten enrollment increases. • Adding a prefabncated facility to the Harrington site • Constructing a 7,000 square foot addition onto Harrington. This might limit the growth of kindergarten through grade 5 at the school. • Adding a prefabncated facility to a School Department site on Laconia Street. This requires significant site development costs Mr Poinelli also discussed options that are under consideration for the middle schools. • Implementing a three phased project to upgrade Clarke Phase 1 -Adding prefabncated units and/or constructing an addition (bricks and mortar) This would add capacity for one additional team. ➢ Phases 2 & 3 -would not add capacrt` but it would improve the school s functional t\ • Building a two story addition at Diamond Middle School (Diamond) that would create 15 to 17 classrooms and enlarge the cafeteria. There are a variety of options for re-configuring the space Requirements for all of the support services and office space need to be further evaluated if this is pursued. It was noted that many new middle schools do not include auditoriums Changes at Diamond require some re-grading,may require a new service road, and include either moving or replacing the school s modular units There was discussion about accommodating the anticipated enrollment five years hence and for addressing the more immediate crowding at the elementary level. Leasing modulars or purchasing pre-fabricated facilities by the fall of 2016 can address the short term needs The best locations need to be determined and the residual impact of increased enrollment on the cafeterias, gymnasiums, library and support services needs to be understood. Mr Poinelli noted that another classroom is needed for the pre-kindergarten program. A potential short term solution is to convert up to 7,000 square feet of space in the School Administration Building to accommodate the pre-kindergarten program This may be possible without triggering extensive code requirements, although the bathrooms to be used for the program might need retrofitting and new furniture may be needed. He suggested that this may not be a satisfactory long term solution but could address the immediate pressures Mr Poinelli reviewed opportunities for increasing both short term and long term capacity at each of the elementary schools using a combination of modular units for short term needs,prefabncated units for short term and long term needs, and bnck and mortar for long term needs He demonstrated how the options would lead to a redistricting opportunity that balances the anticipated enrollment within the buildings He described the district options and how 500 additional students would be accommodated in five years under the different options He cautioned that these are preliminary findings and as the number of options is reduced it will be possible to look more deeply into the ramifications of scenarios Mr Porcelli asked for feedback from this Committee to help refine the options and determine what is realistic It was noted that costs will play a major role in what is considered feasible Although constructing another school does not seem likely, it was agreed that rough estimated costs are needed for due diligence purposes It was agreed that there should be no further consideration of the school configuration that includes grades 5 through 8 middle schools There was considerable committee interest in Option 4 for the elementary schools,which includes. • Fiske Elementary School. Adding four classrooms • Harrington. Removing the pre-kindergarten program and replacing a pod with a two-story addition • Hastings Replacing the current building with a new five section school • School Administration Building: Incorporating a prefabricated building for the pre-kindergarten program 2. Next Meeting. The next meeting will be on December 11, 2014 at 8 a.m., location to be determined. SMMA expects to have some preliminary cost estimates based on square footage for options that are still being considered. SMMA also expects to present some information relating the high school at the next meeting. 3 Minutes. A motion was made and seconded to accept the October 30, 2014 and November 20, 2014 Minutes The motion passed. VOTE 5-0 [Note Mr Goddard left before this vote was taken] 4 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 1000 A.M. These minutes were approved on December 18, 2014 Materials distributed/used at the meeting: Public Meeting Agenda, October 30, 2014, AhSMPC SMMA PowerPoint slides Lexington Public Schools,Ad hoc Schools Master Plan Committee, Middle and Elementary Schools, December 4, 2014 3