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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1964-06-SSBC Proposed New Elementary Schools for Town of Lexington.pdf Proposed New Elementary Schools for Town of Lexington 'flaw aA 4 'fi '�. _ li'�"{' IJ,,J�S�dT��S�L�.lu 41. 1 _.Y- Iii v-i mss-' } �c..�'44' i+ ✓sa �-S :gym + aiierm { �` 1 i a i AFS F■ 4'1 " ( 16:d �_J..� Fi �'� . �I 1 I t - THE STANDING SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS JUNE 1964 Jacqueline B Davison Superintendent of Schools Kenneth R Fox Rudolph J Fobert Irving H Mabee Architects Mary Louise Touart Clinch, Crimp, Brown & Fisher Thomas G Taylor, Secy-Treas John F Barnaby, Vice-Chairman Secretary Robert G Hargrove, Chairman Ruth V Keefe On Monday, June 8, 1964 a special town meeting will be held Two of the articles to be considered concern the final plans for two new elementary schools, Middleby Road and Moreland Avenue Preliminary design funds for Middleby were approved in the fall of 1963 and preliminary study funds for the Moreland Avenue School were approved in the March 1964 town meeting The Standing School Building Committee, recognizing the need for answering your quest- ions concerning these two schools, has prepared this pamphlet In it are discussions on our growing educational needs and the needs for the Middleby Road School in 1966 and the Moreland Avenue School in 1967, on the savings we hope to effect by designing two identical schools from the same educational specifications, on the general building design for the two: schools, and on the School Committees' recommendation for the two schools STATEMENT OF THE LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE The School Committee's position with regard to Article 12 (Middleby Road School) and Article 13 (Moreland Avenue School) can be stated as follows 1 The school on Middleby Road is urgently needed by the fall of 1966 The project, initiated last fall, is on schedule Article 12 is exactly as it would be if the Moreland Avenue School were not being considered 2 The school committee decided that the next elementary school will be needed by the fall of 1967 This decision has been thoroughly rechecked by the present school com- mittee and the new Superintendent and has been re-affirmed 3 The design of the Middleby Road School provides the necessary flexibility to accom- modate any foreseeable elementary program and can therefore be used without change for the next school 4 With only one year separating the two schools, the school committee considered itself obligated to propose that the Town Meeting evaluate the possible savings in fees and construction costs which might result from identical design and simultaneous bidding The reduction in state aid for Lexington after the end of 1964 was another important reason for this consideration 5 In March of this year, the Town Meeting agreed to the proposed evaluation of possible savings by approving the Moreland Avenue site and instructing the School Building Committee to make a preliminary study of the use of the Middleby Road school design on the new site Final evaluation can only be accomplished by obtaining bids for both schools as requested under Articles 12 and 13 6 In summary, the school committee feels that the Moreland Avenue School is needed by September, 1967, which would mean that the contracts should be approved not later than the end of 1965 The decision with regard to authorizing construction funds in 1964 should be made entirely on the basis of the indicated savings Lexington School Committee James F Fenske Elizabeth H Clarke, Secretary Austin W Fisher, Jr Alfred L Viano, Chairman Vernon C Page z As Educational Needs Grow . . . During the past several years Lexington's elementary schools have operated with a severe space shortage Double sessions in the lower grades have been avoided by dividing gyms into classrooms and by using substandard rooms Small groups have used hallways, lobbies, health rooms and large closets In the fall of 1964 and again in 1965 the situation will be relieved by putting 6th grade pupils in the junior high schools, where space will be made available by putting the 9th grade at the high school In 1966, with the Middleby Road School completed, some 6th grade classes will still have to be housed at Muzzey and Diamond. It should be stated here that the School Committee would prefer not to have part of the 6th grade in secondary facilities, but considers this preferable to placing these pupils on double sessions The present enrollment projections indicate a need for approximately six additional elementary classrooms each year In 1967, unless the Moreland Avenue School is available, more than 300 8th grade pupils will have to be moved to the high school and approximately 600 6th graders to the junior high schools The School Committee strongly opposes putting 8th grade groups in the high school on the basis of both educational and social considerations It also would oppose any plan which continues the practice of placing 6th graders at the junior high schools With the Moreland Avenue School occupied in 1967, all elementary pupils could be housed in the eleven elementary schools with only one classroom unoccupied In 1968, there would be a shortage of five classrooms This would indicate a need for an additional elementary school in 1969 or 1970 Each year the projections will be re-evaluated to determine when this third elementary school will be needed Previous projections for space needs at the elementary level have been based on a simple count of the total enrollment divided by an established average of 27 per classroom The state laws require that we provide for mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed child- ren It is further specified that these pupils be housed in classrooms with no more than eight (emotionally disturbed), twelve (trainable retarded), and eighteen (educable retarded) pupils per room It is more often desirable to assign fewer than these maxima to meet the special needs of these children We have three such classes now and the projections, based on known cases presently in the schools, plus those being temporarily handled elsewhere, indicate that we will need ten rooms for these groups by 1966 and more in the future It can readily be seen that ten rooms for special classes can handle only about 100 pupils, while on a regular basis they would provide for 270 pupils For this reason the School Committee has been forced to revise its method of projecting need from a straight enrollment basis to a calculation of actual classroom requirements Another factor which has affected the space requirement is the need for smaller spaces to handle groups taking foreign language and music, receiving remedial assistance and using library materials Several of our schools can use substandard rooms for these purposes and will continue to use small spaces available Four schools, however, do not have enough spaces to provide adequately for these activities Therefore, one classroom in each of these four schools is to be converted for these small group activities 3 Finally, if we continue to operate with more children than we can accommodate in proper facilities, we not only risk the gradual lowering of the quality of program, but we also will be unprepared to cope with an unexpected increase in enrollment from something like the new NASA Center in this general area It is for these reasons that the School Committee has unanimously voted that the Moreland Avenue School should be ready by the fall of 1967 We Have to Find Economical Solutions. Given the problem of two elementary school buildings needed within one year of each other, the simplest, most logical solution in terms of money is to have one school designed which will be adaptable to two different sites We have been asked to do this before We have an opportunity to do it now Two articles which will be in the Warrant for consideration at Town Meeting on June 8, 1964 will ask for money for final plans and specifications for both schools The request for Middleby Road is on schedule The request for Moreland may give us an opportunity for greater economy on both The article for Middleby Road School will request $52, 000 and the one for Moreland Avenue $26, 000 The difference between the two reflects only part of the savings in architectural fees 4 acr { „ii_...,----ig„i„.,,,,r,,,,=„._ .... ..7.-.i,„7.,„„_,_„,,7_, MUSIC BOILER ROOM 9 CLASS ROOMS KITCHEN C LA S S RIOOMS - C LA S SIR 0 0 S --- —1- _ i - -® i -- SiiRAGIE ��1� 1 I r I TEACHERS WORK AREAi 1 CONFRENCEI 1 I CAFETERIA AUDIO VISUAL MATERIALS I LL GYMNASIUM I I CLASS CLASS AUDITORIUM I STORAGE -ROOMS — L STUDY AREA PRINCIPALS IF ROOMS , LIBRARY OFFICE I -1iI �I �� I .-- .9.--s--,- CONFERENCE - ••• -- L JJ,---L-1 1 — .T— CLASSREIOMS C L A I S S R 0 0 M I S I - - C L A S S1 R O O M S ty' I l I 1 J y�,vl----, --__ .--- _ _ _.. • 4 __________________„_ e __: OPi P / . FLOOR PLAN4. V to to w .o on CO ,o .o .o 100 \ N1 Recommended by School Sites Committee and purchased as / The Middleby. Road Site. 1a result of Town Meeting action of May, 1958 2,------- Located on 30 acre site on Middleby Road off Lincoln Street 1 \ and Marrett Road adjacent to the Old Reservoir and 15 acres "' PP of recreation land 3 Will relieve classroom overcrowding at the Franklin and Maria Hastings Schools which, in turn, can accomodate students to ease pressure on other schools in town i P LAY FIELD / \------ / BARD TOP P�Av Aq EA / \ SEPGE / ''-r''''' ' 3 N6 / P p K K 4 1 \ S t.- \ \ � \\ \ \ . \ \ \Egv Oq\ /- ,,,,,,,_____--00 -- \ ,� / PLOT PLAN The Moreland Avenue Site. I �, y i � J 1 Recommended by the School Sites Committee and i �� purchased as a result of Town Meeting action of /PAR, March, 1962 (I 2 Located adjacent to Moreland Avenue in Follen Hill 1 and Moon Hill area, this 15 acre site abutts 44 i \4 acres of town-owned recreation land 3 Will relieve classroom overcrowding at the �-- Franklin and Adams Schools which, in turn, _ -� can accomodate students to relieve crowding in other elementary schools ' / _______ N AAo ,oP / \ PLAY AFEA - \ PLAYFIELD hi \\ ..to / a . C Q v c ti D O �\\ \ 0 FFE ROAD v I O PLOT PLAN 90 , , I \ • Buildings are Designed to Fit Programs. The schools are designed for an educational program with enough flexibility to accomodate large and small groups for specialized remedial work, group projects, and large and small class sections Two large double-use areas are the gymnasium-auditorium and the cafe- teria-study hall The heart of the school is the library-teacher work center complex. This center will contain space for storage and distribution of materials (books, filmstrips, tapes, records etc ), space for planning materials (teachers' work area with permanent teachers'desks), space for production of materials and storage of equipment and space and facilities for the use of these materials (reading and study areas etc ) It is designed to encourage effective independent study through the use of a wide variety of learning materials Of a total of 24 classrooms, 18 are standard size (with four operable dividers), two are designed for easy conversion to kindergarten use, two are for educable retarded children of primary and intermediate ages, and two can be divided into a total of six small group rooms To operate the program, at least one of these rooms, which divides into three small group spaces, must be available for a variety of special group activities As a result, the need for this room places the capacity of this school at 23 classrooms for a total of 603 pupils A simple roof with clerestory dormers to light the interior cafeteria-study area, library, teachers'work center, etc was chosen for greater economy of construction, as was the rectangular shape of the building Both reflect the interest of the Standing School Building Committee in providing simplified construction while maintaining standards for low-main- tenance interior finishes 8 The Specifications Are: FLOOR Concrete Slab on Grade WALLS EXTERIOR Concrete Block with Brick Veneer INTERIOR Concrete Block Painted Glazed Block Dados in Corridors and Toilets STRUCTURAL Steel FRAME ROOF Steel Deck with Tar and Gravel Covering CEILINGS Acoustical Tile FLOORS Cafeteria-Study area, Gym-Auditorium-Vinyl Tile Kitchen-Colored Concrete Toilets-Ceramic Tile Other areas-Asphalt Tile WINDOWS Steel Painted LIGHTING Flourescent and Incandescent HEATING SYSTEM Low Pressure Steam Estimated Construction Cost of Each Building: Each building is 60, 000 square feet @ $16 00 per square foot BUILDING $960, 000 SITE $140, 000 PLANNING & $95, 000 ($30, 000 less for Moreland Avenue) SUPERVISION EQUIPMENT $75, 000 OTHER COSTS & $30, 000 CONTINGENCIES $1, 300, 000 ($30, 000 less for Moreland Avenue) 9 In Building Two Identical Schools WE KNOW we save on architectural fees immediately WE KNOW we can obtain 48 79% reimbursement instead of 40% for the schools from the School Building Assistance Commission if funds are voted before January 1, 1965 WE THINK if final plans and specifications money is voted in June Town Meeting that we can present Fall Town Meeting with bids on both schools which might reflect appreciable savings We can ask for bids three ways A-Middleby School-48 79% reimbursement B-Moreland School-48 79% reimbursement-40% if postponed AB-Middleby-Moreland-48 79 reimbursement-the contract to specify that Middleby be ready for Fall 66, Moreland for Fall 67 WE THINK that bidding AB (two schools together) could mean that a contractor might alternate work crews, foundation forms and machinery from one site to the other It might mean savings in time and technique when the same job is repeated twice WE PLAN TO ASK FOR SUCH AN AB BID TO SEE WHETHER A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY COULD BE SAVED WE THINK we might also be able to reduce equipment costs by purchasing it for both schools simultaneously Large orders often keep factories busy during slow seasons cutting down per unit cost and overhead WE ESTIMATE that each school will cost $960, 000 Fully equipped each would run $1, 300, 000 If funds are voted this year we get 48 79% of the cost of each school back from the state spread over a period of 20 years Schools are financed by bond issues, direct additions to the tax rate and reserve funds (E & D) already on hand, or any combination of these Financing will be determined by the Town after Town Meeting appropriates the money I0