HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-12-SC-minLSC Meeting Minutes of 11.12.15 1
LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Hadley Public Services Building, Training Room #221
201 Bedford Street
PRESENT:
Chair Jessie Steigerwald; Vice Chair William Hurley, Alessandro Alessandrini; Margaret Coppe;
Clerk Judy Crocker; Superintendent Dr. Mary Czajkowski
The Minutes were taken by Paula McDonough
6:01 p.m. Chair called the meeting to order and informed the public that the School
Committee would recess at 7:00 p.m. to relocate downstairs in order to participate in the Summit,
and, at the end of the Summit, would relocate back in the same room.
Public Comments: There were none.
Superintendent’s Announcements:
Redistricting Update
• Superintendent is exploring bringing a consultant into the redistricting process. Three
quotes will be obtained and an update will be brought back to the committee.
• Based on projections for enrollment at Hastings for 2016-2017, an additional classroom
may be available for redistricting.
At 6:05 p.m. Alessandrini joined the meeting.
School Committee Member Announcements: There were none
Agenda:
1. Special Town Meeting #1
a) School Department Recommended Plan
The Chair recognized Dr. Czajkowski to provide updates regarding the multiple school
project proposals. DiNisco provided administration with detailed proposals for Pelham
and recommends adding space to the building if it will be used as an elementary school.
They had three alternatives, each adding space (8,000 sf, 6,600 sf, or 2,500 sf).
There were questions and comments from the committee:
• If school opened as K-3 the first year, would any space be required?
• With a 10 or 12 classroom school, could art and music room be combined?
• What is the short-term vs. long-term potential for the facility?
• What is the timeline to renovate or add space? When could it be ready in each scenario?
• Can administration project needs beyond five years?
At this point, Dr. Czajkowski said she would not recommend making use of Pelham as a seventh
elementary school due to concerns about the cost.
Dr. Czajkowski shared her current recommendation, which includes:
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.12.15 2
• Redistrict to relieve current overcrowding at Bowman, Bridge and Fiske and to make use of seven elementary classrooms by fall 2016: 3 at Harrington, 3 at Estabrook and 1 at Hastings. • Relocate Lexington Children’s Place (“LCP” pre-Kindergarten program) into the Central Office instead of leasing space from Minuteman Tech and, to make adequate space for LCP, relocate the MELP program (METCO math enrichment) to an elementary school. Note: MELP currently uses 3 classrooms at the Central Office, but only for three hours on 20 Thursday afternoons • Focus resources on building a new Hastings and expansion at Diamond and Clarke with renovation and new construction
Pat Goddard reviewed the Pelham information and information about the two middle school
projects. Mr. Goddard summarized the updates from the Permanent Building Committee
meeting that was held on November 10, 2015. The project costs were higher, but two different
evaluators came in very close with their cost estimates. The total projects are now over $223
million dollars.
b) Discussion:
Members noted the Selectmen shared a projection for impact of total project cost on
taxpayers, and that their meeting was prior to the cost estimates. Impact over 4 or 5 years
could be up to $1,000 per average residential taxpayer. There were questions about items
like the LHS HVAC system and the Diamond boiler, and whether they could wait, or be
paid for within the tax levy.. Members agreed that it was important to hear feedback from
Summit participants about the overall project cost before amending current proposal.
Members agreed to pick up discussion later in the evening.
c) Review Motions – Tabled. Motions were not ready for review.
7:01 p.m. The Chair called a recess in order to relocate downstairs to the Public Service Building
Cafeteria in order to participate in the Summit.
The Committee relocated and at 7:05 p.m. Hurley called the School Committee back to order.
Steigerwald entered the room at 7:07 p.m.
Complete minutes for the Summit were taken by the Selectmen and should be consulted in
addition to this set of minutes.
Summit notes: Joe Pato, Chair of the Selectmen, asked Summit participants to react to the
overall project proposals. Committee members answered questions and offered feedback. Dr.
Czajkowski shared her current reaction to the cost estimate information and her updated
recommendation regarding Pelham. Several School Committee members asked participants if
they had a “ceiling “in mind for the total school project budget. Participants noted that it was
critical to consider capital costs as well as operating costs, and one member of Appropriation had
begun a model to consider this in greater detail. Value-engineering can decrease costs, but a
change in scope or a change in scheduling may have greater ability to decrease the overall
budget, but administration would need to explain the various impacts this would have.
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.12.15 3
9:06 Joe Pato took a roll call to move into Executive Session with the School Committee,
Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committee, under Exemption 6, regarding
purchase of Pelham property.
Steigerwald AYE Hurley AYE Coppe AYE Alessandrini AYE Crocker AYE
Minutes for Executive Session are in a separate document and were taken by the
Selectmen.
On a roll call vote, at 9:37 p.m. the School Committee voted to end Executive Session, and
return to open session.
Steigerwald AYE Hurley AYE Coppe AYE Alessandrini AYE Crocker AYE
The Chair called a recess to relocate back upstairs to Room #221.
9:41 The Chair called the meeting back to order in Room #221.
Members reviewed feedback from Summit participants, including concerns about the overall
multiple school project costs. Chair requested that members gather a list of questions and
information that would help to review the updated information at Nov. 17, 2015 scheduled
meeting.
Members requested:
• Sufficient detail regarding middle school projects to assess what could be removed from
scope in order to optimize budget. Members requested breakdown to see elements
required to expand capacity, address current overcrowding, provide maintenance to
mechanical systems, program requirements vs. requests, and a clear list of items that
could be removed in order to decrease the project cost.
Answers to questions raised earlier in the evening, especially about Pelham.
Dr. Czajkowski proposed to meet with Mr. Goddard and DiNisco to gather information. Mr.
Goddard sought clarification on level of detail that would assist members.
Meeting Materials: Multiple School Project Costs Worksheet (prepared by Pat Goddard, Nov. 12, 2015); Pelham Space Summary (prepared by DiNisco); Pelham Test Fit Options (prepared by DiNisco);“Lexington Multiple Schools Projects: All Middle School Growth to Diamond Comparison” (prepared by DiNisco, Nov. 12, 2015);“Lexington Multiple Schools Project: 20 Pelham Road” (prepared by DiNisco, Nov. 11, 2015)
DiNisco Presentation Packet to Permanent Building Committee Meeting, Nov. 10, 2015
Place on Consent Agenda 2.2.16 SC Approval
Voted Approved 2.2.16