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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1957-12-16-CEC-min.pdf MEETING OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMM. WITH SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 16, 1957 A meeting of the Capital Expenditures Committee was held with the members of the School Committee on December 16, 1957, at 8 30 p.m. in the School Committee room of the Superintendent's office. Those present for the C.E.Comm. were Sanborn C. Brown, chairman, Rosemary Fitzgerald, Dan H. Fenn Jr., Irving Mabee, and Norman Role with Mabelle Tucker acting as secretary. Those present for the School Committee were Neil Chapman, Donald Clark, Mildred Marek, chairman, Edward Martin and Gordon Steele, with Superintendent of Schools John Blackhall Smith, and Assistant Superintendent Mitchell Spyros. The meeting was called to order at 8:55 p.m. by Mrs . Marek, who commented that the next five years were particularly difficult to plan for with any degree of certainty. She then asked Supt. Smith to present the committees plans for the future. Mr. Smith presented the recommendations as follows: ,t! 1958: (1) Renovations to present Jr. Hiah Building $450,000. This was requested and turned down in 1957, and occurs again this year with no change in price. (2) New Junior High Building: $2,000,720, an estimate basddd ' 4 on a preliminary estimate from engineers, &nd including the furniture and the architect's fee. The committee will get a fixed bid to bring to the town meeting. (3) Moving central administrative office to Barnes Property: If the selectmen will give permission for the Schhol Dept. to take over the Barnes Property, the superintendent's office will be moved from the present Junior HightBuilding to the Barnes Property. According to Harry Erickson, architect of the Jr. High renovations, the Barnes Proptrty could be renovated for a total of $30,000 - $40,000Q Mr. Smith would like $15,000 in 1958 for this purpose, and an equal amount in each of the next two years. 1959: (1) Renovation of Barnes Property : $15,000. 2 New elementary school; $800, 000. Probably in North Lexington. Mr. Brown asked why the estimate of $800,000 for this school was $50,000 less than the estimate in the 1957 C.E. C. Report. Mr. Smith answered that (1) the school might be smaller than previously thought; and (2) Building costs may be down next year. 1960: (1) New elementary school: $850,000. Might be larger than the 1959 one. (2) Renovation of Barnes Property: $15,000. In 1960 Mr. Smith recommended that a public kindergarten pro- gram be started, and that class sizes be reduced in present grades. This would necessitate the new elementary school. 1961: (1) New secondary school $2,010,000. This might be on a site which could accomodate a Junior High and High, or a High. This item is still in question because (1) building in Lexington has slowed down; and (2) Lexington Academy, a girls high school for grade 7r up will be operating by 1959-60. Page 2 MEETING OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMM. WITH SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 16, 1957 1962 No recommendation is made, but Mrr. Smith pointed out that the town might be thinking of replacing Hancock School, or Munroe School, or both; both are obsolete, and by 1962, with new elementary schools in other areas of town, the pressure to have new facilities in the center of town should be greater. If both schools were replaced with one school, it would have to be a $1,000,000 school. Mr. Smith asked that the C.E. C. carry the $10000,000 figure in their report, for a new elementary school, but with the notation that it is difficult to see in 1957 what 1962 will bring. Mr. Smith then gave operating budget and enrollment figures Year Operating Budget Enrollment 1957-58 $ 1,451,735 5100 (round figure) 1958-59 1,765,000 5450 1959-60 2,165,000 Mr. Fenn asked if growth of the town had slowed down just this year, or for the last couple of years. Mr. Smith replied that we still have growth, but it has levelled off; the school enrollment will pick up 300 - 350 more pupils each year. Next year's first grade is bigger than this year's - but the year after it is smaller again. Mrs. Marek pointed out that from 1948 - 1955 the town had a tremen- dous growth on a percentage basis, starting fromaa low base. Now the base is larger. Mrs. Fitzgerald asked if there were a slowup in building. Mr. Fenn said that the number of actual housing starts was down 30% this year in Lexington, according to Donald Irwin, building inspector. Mr. Smith stated that Samuel Snow, town planner, thought that the larger building lots were beginning to have an effect in slowing down building. Mr. Steele stated that some building magazine predicted an upswing in home building in 1958. There was a discussion of methods of predicting future enrollment and costs. Mr. Brown asked if the superintendent still used a national index to arrive at a predictbn of future school population. Mr Smith answered yes. Mr. Brown said that this posed a problem in that this national formula gave a linear increase in school population, whereas Lexington's growth approximated a logarithmic plot. Also, school costs are increasing logarithmically, as seen from the operating budget figures for 19584)59 and 1959-60 which Mr. Smith had just given. The figure of 5100 for this year's en- rollment is quite a bit below the logarithmic line, however. But even though enrollment is not going up so fast at present, costd are. Last year the C.E.Comm. was split over whether to use a linear or a logarithmic plot in predicting costs - so they split the difference, and the estimate was low. Mr. Brown asked the school committee 's advice as to whether the linear or the loga- rithmic plot would be more appropriate over the five year period. Mrs. Marek pointed out that perhaps the operating budget has been too low in Lexington over a number of years: the committee has tried to get along and has hoped not to have such increases in Page 3 MEETING OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMM. WITH SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 16, 1957 enrollment. For instance, at the time of the last teachers ' salary raise (before the most recent one), the committee wanted to be con- servative and decided to spread the raise over three years rather than giving the full raise in one year. So it is a case of the school committee now having to catch up, which makes costs rise. In answer to a question from Mr. Brown as to how many years she thought it would take to catch up, Mrs. Marek replied that if the schools continued to add 350 - 400 pupils each year, and if a kindergarten program were added (as has been in the town's thinking since 1948-49) , and if a summer program were instituted, then it { would be at least 45 to 10 years before they could catch up. For the purposes of the C.E.Comm. this was interpreted as meaning that the Ukneeo of the growth curve of costs would not be reached in at least the next five years with which they are presently concerned. There was a discussion of the effect of probable or possible paro- chial schools in Lexington on public school enrollment. It was brought out by Mr. Smith that Lexington Academy, the girls ' High School which he understood would be operating by 1959-60, was not a parochial but a private school. Mr. Chapman thought that, accord- ing to information given him by Dan Lynch, tkii Lexington Academy would not be inoperatiom (full operation, that is ) until after 1 , 60; it was his understanding that the school would start with grade 1, and add a grade a year for si$ years - and not open the high school until after the sixth grade was reached. Regardless of the date, Mr. Smith thought the Lex. Acad. would enroll 250 - 300 girls in all. Mr. Martin though that St. Brigid's Church would open a parochial elementary school by 1962. There was a discussion of the possible opening of public kindergartens in 1960. Mr. Brown asked if the kindergarten enrollment were built int& predictions of school enrollment. Mr. Smith answered that there were no figures yet, althagh he estimated that there might be a base of 600 children of kindergarten age, of whom 70 - 80$ might enroll, or possibly 400 children. Mr Brown wondered if it would not be realistic top ut this figure into the enrollment predictions; Mrs. Marek and Ar. Chap- man answered that the School Committee had not yet reached a positive ive decision yet about kindergartens: it was in their thinking, but they hadn't discussed the timing of it, which Mr. Chapman seemed to think might be more like 1962. Mrs. Fitzgerald asked if the proposed new elementary school in 1960 ($850,000) were just to take care of the proposed kindergarten enrollment - or was it the same elementary school which had been in the C.E.Comm. 1957 report ISE as scheduled for 1960. Mr. Smith answered that last year it had been put into the C.E.Comm. report (although not in the superintendent's report) as being in the School Committee's thinking; this year they are saying thdlt it could be used for the opening of kindergarten and to reduce class size, and that 1960 is a good year. He added that the size and Dost of the building would depend to some extent on the type of kindergarten program offered, if it were to be morning kindergarten for all pupils, an $850 ,000 building would be needed; if half the pupils attended in the morning and half in the afternoon (switching about every few months) then a smaller building would do. Page 4 MEETING OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMM. WITH SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 16, 1957 Mrs. Fitzgerald asked if the School Committee had any ideas about providing education beyond the 12th grade. Mr. Smith replied that the Committee haat been talking earler this evening with the School Building Sites Committee and with Roland Greeley about this; there was a possibility of 2 or 3 neighboring communities getting together on a community college, probably an extention of the University of Massachusetts, with a large share of the cost borne by the state. He didn't know what the state planning might be - but perhaps the town might furnish the land, and the state put up the building(s) . Mrs. Fitzgerald spoke of the fact that the Governor had asked for 6 million dollars for education, and did not get it - and that the Adit of State Needs showed that the state needed 135 million dollars more; she wondered where the money would come from. Mr. Chapman felt that the School Committee was hard pressed to provide education at the local level; he thought that anything beyond 12th grade would be provided at the regional level, in view of the shortage of town funds in Lexington. Mrs . Marek thought that it was not in the near future (not in the next 5 - 10 years for Lexington to build and support a community college; however if there were pressure from state and federal governments, then this would change the picture. Mr. Brown thought that there would probably be large Federal appro- priations for education within/ the next year, and that the state would want its share - and that the colleges must be put somewhere; the town might be under pressure from the Federal government to provide a full scale Junior College (which, even though supported to areat extent by Fed. funds would certainly cost the town some- thing) .. He wondered how the School Committee felt about this. Mrs. Marek replied that there is already a sbhool site labelled "Secondary School and / or Junior College; she thought that opinions varied as to the urgency of the problem, but that, looking at college enrollment figures it was obvious that in a few years something more would be needed. Mr. Smith said that Wayland has already met with state and Federal officials about a community college there; there are at present only two real community colleges in the state - in Holyoke and Newton; he thought that there would not be more than 2 in the ,uetropolitan Boston area in the next 5 years. Mr. Steele thought that the School Committee ought to get information about possible Federal and state aid to community colleges, and asked if Mr. Brown have any information about this from his recent trip to Washington. Mr. Brown replied that lots of people are talking about filing bills, and that the Junior College idea is popular because it has good grass roots appeal. (Many bills have already been filed, pro- tiding help in getting apparatus for schools and colleges) . Mr. Fenn asked what the summer program mentioned earlier would involve. Mr. Smith said that the School Committee had discussed the need for it; last year Lexington was able to use the Harvard-Newton program, and 97 elementary pupils enrolled. There is a need for this sort of pro- gram at the secondary level - to give pupils a chance to take courses which they have not time for in their regular high school curriculum, and to give them a chance to bone up in some subjects, for better College Board results. Page 5 MEETING OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMM. WITH SCHOOL COMMITTEE December 16, 1957 Mr. Steele asked about Commissioner of Education Kiernanâ–şs 11 month plan. Mr. Smith said that this was not so much for pro- gram, as for hiring teachers for 11 months. However, Kiernan has said that he thinkg the educational year ought to be longer - our elementary putt's go 170 days a year, compared to Russia's 210, our secondary pupils 180 compared to their 270. Mr. Brown asked if an 11 month plan were included in the 1958-59 budget or the 1959-60 budget. Mr. Smith said no, for the 58-59, and that as yet it is not in the 59-60. There is a community rela- tions problem - you can't impose a summer program on the town. Mr. Brown thought you could lay the groundwork for a favorable opinion. Mr. Fenn asked if the move of the central administrative office to the Barnes Property were tied in Sim with the renovation of the Junior High School. . Mrs. Marek replied that the cost isn't included in the renovation, but the timing of the move is - the renovators have asked 4. Smith to move. Mr. Smith commented that there might possibly be an extension of the kind of program now going on at Franklin School (the research being directed by the Harvard Graduate School of Educa- tion under the auspices of the Ford tFoundation) to the other elementary schools in town. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. {