HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-04-SMPAC-min Lexington Public Schools Master Planning Committee
Friday,January 4,2019 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Samuel Hadley Public Services Building,Training Room#221, 201 Bedford Street
Master Planning Committee Members Present:
Dr.Julie Hackett Marina Levit
Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh Sara Cuthbertson
Peter Rowe Charles Hornig
Michael Cronin Daniel Voss
Donna DiNisco Daniel Abramson
Kate Colburn
Kathleen Lenihan Alan Levine (Liaison)
Joe Pato Sandy Beebee (Liaison)
Lexington High School Staff Present:Andrew Stephens, Kevin Kelly, Chris Bouchard, Avon Lewis (current
LEA President)
The minutes were taken by Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Planning and Assessment for the Lexington
Public Schools.
Corresponding powerpoint presentation and word document available and referenced below
I. Minutes approved for December 14, 2018
II. Brief review of secondary enrollment projections from LPS(see powerpoint)
III. Considered the question, "When enrollment outpaces capacity,which strategies should we
consider?"
A. Group reviewed and added ideas to "School Master Planning Advisory Committee
(SMPAC) Strategies to Employ if Enrollment Outpaces Capacity at Lexington High School"
document. New edits are highlighted in blue. LHS staff, including Andrew Stephens
(principal), Kevin Kelley(Math Dept Head & HS scheduler), Chris Bouchard (Facilities)
and Avon Lewis (former science department faculty member, now LEA president) also
participated in the discussion.
B. Some questions that came up during this discussion included:
Q: How do we determine how short on space we are at LHS?
A: We will revisit this, but a review conducted by LPS staff planned around a 300
students increase over present enrollment (based on current projections) and identified
a need for 7-9 more general classrooms per block to hold 25 students each (this would
be a minimum);This would not address core space or special program needs (special
education, ELL, etc.).
• A few members noted that 300 seemed too conservative to plan for and
suggested we plan closer to 400 (based on recent enrollment falling slightly
above projections)
• High school staff clarified these numbers did not include the 2 new science
rooms we're already planned on and also stated they were trying to identify the
minimum number of rooms they would need, keeping in mind the potential
fiscal impacts to the community.
Q: What is the difference between NFA and GSF?
A: Net Square Footage (NFA) =floor area within a space; Gross square is the entire
building (stair cases, hallways, etc)
Q: How would temporary solutions fit in with longer term plans to rebuild?
A: Agreed we need to think about this. For example, we should keep in mind future
building plans if we are going to place any modular or portable solutions on the current
site. We also need to think about what we mean by the word, "temporary" (i.e. how
many years does this refer to?).
A. Do all Lexington students attend LABBB at LHS?
B. No, where a student attends depends on their specific educational needs. Students
may attend another LABBB site.
C. Other general concerns and observations included:
1. Cafeteria/lunches: would need to expand from 3 to 4 as cafeteria space becomes
even more of an issue due to growing enrollments
a) Members also wondered about the current food services capacity; as
enrollment increases, we may outpace the current food prep areas; LPS
has considered preparing food at satellite locations
2. Already have plans in place to address Biology and Chemistry space needs; still
need to address Earth Science and Physics in 2022-2023
3. Staff anticipate that other specialized spaces will face pressure during
enrollment increases (e.g.Art& Music spaces)
4. With increases,there will be no wiggle room for special activities
a) Example: AP testing. At times this requires 9 rooms simultaneously,
with varying needs over 10 days in May;This would not be possible with
peak projected enrollment; may have to move AP testing off site
5. Impact on iBlock?
6. Need to think about the logistics of building on the same LHS site- what swing
space is needed and available?
a) Answering this question would be part of the feasibility study
b) However, if we are thinking of modulars or portables,we should
consider what sites/locations might be needed for future construction in
determining their location
c) Previous planning work might help inform us (i.e. 2014 SMMA report)
D. Superintendent mentioned that LPS has a draft Statement of interest (SIO) prepared for
the high school. This could be reviewed during a future meeting. From start to finish,
building a high school with MSBA is a 5-6 year process
IV. Possible Future Agenda Items:
A. Continued review list of options (ask that each MPC member does this before the
meeting and have an idea of prioritization, including which combination of ideas might
work together); our goal next week would be to rank order these
B. Donna DiNisco and facilities can provide LHS floor and site plans (including the location
of wetlands)
C. Alan Levine,Appropriation Committee Liaison, could provide a brief presentation of
tax/fiscal impacts
D. Review of draft Massachusetts Building Association (MSBA) Statement of Interest (SOI)
for Lexington High
E. Report on short-term space needs at LHS and how LPS (temporarily) solved the science
lab space crunch