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Home My WebLink About2014-12-18-SMPC-min �y4'7°a Ca'.4N1Ryx n TOWN OF LEXINGTON Ad hoc School Master Planning Committee (AhSMPC) APPo'L I4' Minutes Date December 18, 2014 Place and Time- School Administration Building,Upper Level Conference Room, 8 00 A.M. Members Present Judy Crocker, Co-chair of AhSMPC, School Committee Paul Ash, Superintendent of Schools, Michelle Ciccolo for Peter Kelley, Board of Selectmen(BoS) Patrick Goddard, Director, Department of Public Facilities (DPF) Jon Himmel, Permanent Building Committee (PBC) Carl Oldenburg, PBC Member Absent Bill Hurley, Co-chair of AhSMPC, School Committee Liaisons Present Rod Cole, Capital Expenditures Committee Alan Levine, Appropnation Committee Liaisons Absent Mollie Garberg, Appropnation Committee Svmmes, Maini, and McKee Associates (SMMA) Phil Pomelh, Educational Planner Alex Pitkin Others Present Joe Pato, Chair, Board of Selectmen (BoS)„ BoS Mark Barrett, DPF Kate Colburn, Lexington Parents Advocacy Group(LPAG)-Fiske Elementary School, Sandy Beebee, LPAG Christina Lin, Bowman Parent Teacher Association(PTA) Katie Wipke, LPAG Patricia Valda, Bowman PTA, Sharon Olofsson, LPAG Bettina McGimsey, Sidewalk Committee and Parent Teacher Association-Parent Teacher Organization Presidents' Council, Meredith Applegate, LPAG-Hastings Elementary School, Bob Pressman, resident Recording Secretary Sara Arnold Ms Crocker opened the meeting at 8.02 a.m. She reported that late Friday afternoon the Town received a letter from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) saying that Lexington's Statement of Interest for rebuilding Hastings Elementary School(Hastings)had not been accepted. SOI resubmission for the 2015 program would be required for further consideration. 1 SMMA Update on Phase III Master Plan Mr Poinelli noted that, at previous AhSMPC meetings, SMMA had presented seven options for addressing anticipated school enrollment increases at the elementary and middle schools He reported having met with Mr Oldenburg,Mr Himmel and Mr Goddard after the December 11"'PBC meeting and was now presenting an eighth option based on those discussions The Option 8 highlights and potential implementation process were described as follows • There would be an immediate focus on additions/renovations at Fiske and Hamngton Elementary Schools (Fiske and Hamngton) and Diamond Middle School(Diamond) • The Harnngton addition would be larger than Fiske additions identified in the other options and would accommodate the pre-kindergarten program • The increase in Harnngton student and staff populations would require additional parking spaces • The additions/renovations at the three schools would not be MSBA funded and may be handled as a single project, thus expediting the construction program. It was estimated that it could be completed in less than three years • The Diamond teachers would transition from using classroom space for teacher planning purposes to using office/cubical space • It is anticipated that this approach, coupled with townwide redistricting at the elementary and middle schools,would accommodate the current five year enrollment projections • Continued school enrollment evaluations would determine whether additional addition/renovation projects would be warranted, and they would inform the extent of a future replacement of Hastings Elementary School. There was discussion about the need to replace/renovate Hastings Comments included. • This project may eventually be accepted by MSBA,which would result in partial State funding • A delay in pursing this project allows the Town to further track its school enrollment experience, which would help determine the appropriate size of a new/renovated Hastings • The Hasting district is contiguous with neighborhoods that feed into three other elementary schools, allowing flexibility in shrinking or expanding the district. There was discussion about some of the specific elements included in Option 8 Comments and concerns included. • The Fiske site is particularly challenging because of size limitations • Options for swing space during construction need to be explored. • There needs to be an internal review of the pre-kindergarten needs • Traffic patterns at the impacted schools need to be evaluated. • Event parking at Harnngton would be particularly challenging • Harnngton has the most flexibility for accommodating construction at an elementary school. Mr Goddard stressed the importance of focusing on the big picture before trying to resolve the fine details The design stage will allow the Town to get into more specifics,but at this point the Town needs a framework for moving forward. The financial implications were also discussed,based on ball park estimates provided by SMMA Mr Porcelli said that SMMA is meeting with their cost estimators and in the near future will have better estimates for project elements that are being considered. He added that parking costs have not been included in the ball park estimates that SMMA has provided. He hopes to simplify the financial analysis by focusing on the most critical components with the most cost variables Mr Levine said that there needs to be a phased financial plan. The Town needs new public safety facilities and cannot also incorporate a $100 million school project in the next five years He added that even the Hastings project is too expensive right now He thought it might be possible for the Town to spend approximately $25 million for elementary school projects identified in Option 8 After those projects, the enrollment projections can be re-evaluated. Dr Ash commented that adding pre-kindergarten space and 12 more classrooms is imperative he is concerned that the current crisis is going to get worse The additional projected 170 middle school students are going to stress the schools at that level. He also noted that the high school needs a new $10 million heating system. Mr Goddard said that the expenses for maintaining the schools, including the replacement of boiler systems, are included in his capital plan. Ms Crocker observed that each group has its criteria for evaluating the options. She noted that the School Committee is interested in having parity in the schools, class sizes that meet School Committee policies, and adequate core space for the programs. She is looking for a five year master plan that identifies the need for additional space or modified space and guidelines for rightsizing and redistricting She noted that there are a lot of layers in addressing all the details Dr Ash reported that he is most interested in pursuing Options 2 and 8 He thinks Option 1 doesn't provide enough space for enrollment growth, Options 4, 5, 6, and 7 are too expensive, and Option 3 involves moving the pre-kindergarten program out of Harrington,which he would like to see avoided. Mr Kelley indicated that he likes Option 8, although he expressed concern about some of the details Discussion focused on which elements of Options 1-8 to pursue and the need for a schedule when pursuing those projects, including requests for funding from Town Meeting Mr Poinelli offered to develop a funding timeline Further discussion led to identifying the following elements that need more detailed information for the SMMA Master Plan—Phase III. • Bridge and Bowman—Projects included in all Options to help address short term needs and how other projects will address long term needs, • Fiske—Projects included in Options 4 and 8 • Harrington—The Option 8 project; • Hastings—A project to create a 4.5 section school, as discussed at previous meetings, • Estabrook—The impact of redistricting, • Clarke Middle School(Clarke)—The Phase 1 pre-fab project to create four classrooms and ancillary needs, as discussed at previous meetings, • Clarke—The estimated cost for Phases 2 and 3 to improve efficiency and achieve rightsizing, as discussed at previous meetings, • Diamond—The Option 8 project; • The Enrollment Working Group's enrollment projections by year • A redistricting timeline for the elementary schools, • The current elementary schools that feed into the middle schools and a timeline for when and how those will change It was noted that not all students from an elementary school need to go to the same middle school. Because Diamond will have a larger capacity than Clarke, the middle schools will likely have district lines that do not correlate to elementary school districts There was a motion and second to direct SMMA to develop a cost-based plan that will include the elements identified above The motion passed. VOTE 6-0 2. Minutes A motion was made and seconded to accept the December 4, 2014 Minutes The motion passed. VOTE 6-0 3 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 1007 A.M. These minutes were approved on January 8, 2015 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, Option 8 Graphics, December 18, 2014 Draft Lexington School Master Comparison Options,prepared by SMMA, 12/17/2014 3