HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-23-SC-min Draft Meeting Minutes 11.23.15 for 12.15.15 School Committee review 1
LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Monday, November 23, 2015
Lexington Town Office Building, Parker Meeting Room
1605 Massachusetts Avenue
Present:
Chair Jessie Steigerwald, Vice Chair William Hurley, Margaret Coppe, Alessandro Alessandrini,
Judy Crocker
Superintendent Dr.Czajkowski and Student Representative Abigail Schwartz were not present
ALSO PRESENT:
Carol Pilarski (Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Professional
Development), Pat Goddard (Director of Facilities), Louise Lipsitz (Principal)
Minutes were taken by Ana Paula McDonough, Executive Assistant to the School Committee.
The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m.
Call to Order and Welcome: Chair Jessie Steigerwald called the meeting to order, and
introduced committee members.
Public Comments:
Nicola Rinaldi, 19 Garfield Street – Supporting replacing Hastings as soon as possible. Can help
with capacity but the issues are safety and building is in need of addressing heating, air quality,
fire sprinklers.
Sharon Musto, 12 Augustus Road – Speaking on behalf of PTA Executive Board at Hastings.
Supporting replacing Hastings to address safety concerns, cracked gym beams, modular in poor
condition.
Curt Barrentine, 100 Bedford Street – Supporting replacing Hastings due to safety concerns and
parity issues.
Kris Spriano, 20 Childs Road – Supporting a new Hastings building to address safety, children
not able to be in classroom during last winter storms.
School Committee Member Announcements: Held to next meeting.
Superintendent’s Announcements: Carol Pilarski expressed appreciation to the Lexington
community and all volunteers, School Committee, staff and students who support our schools.
Agenda: DISCUSSION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE CAPITAL PROJECT:
Steigerwald asked for a recap from each member relating to meetings since last Tuesday.
Draft Meeting Minutes 11.23.15 for 12.15.15 School Committee review 2
Coppe attended the Appropriation meeting November 19th. They had questions about exact
sums that would be requested at Special Town Meeting. Mr. Goddard supplied information
about the total project costs of each element voted by School Committee last Tuesday. He broke
down the amounts required for release on December 1st, the amounts required at Special Town
Meeting through a new appropriation, and the remaining project costs.
Hurley attended the Permanent Building Committee meeting on Friday November 20th. In that
meeting a small group including representatives from Hill Associates, Bond, and DiNisco Design
worked to vet the School Committee proposals. Their work will continue December 4th and will
be submitted to PBC on December 10th. That is after Special Town Meeting. Hurley noted that
some new ideas were brought to the table from Jon Himmel that could impact the middle schools
or other projects and could save funds. Mr. Goddard said these ideas were under consideration.
Steigerwald asked Mr. Goddard what it would cost to renovate Hastings. He said approximately
$15 million for renovations of mechanical systems, roof work, beam work, and other repairs to
bring the building to the same standard as the Bridge and Bowman renovations, plus $10 million
to remove and replace the existing modular.
Steigerwald asked Ms. Lipsitz (Hastings principal) whether the school could operate without the
outdated modular that are currently in place. Ms. Lipsitz said the school could not operate
without them. Eight classrooms are used, four for general education, the others for special
education and specialist space.
Steigerwald asked members to share their views regarding Hastings, given the questions received
throughout the past 48 hours by email, where residents expressed concern that the Hastings
project might be postponed or delayed. All members were in support of prioritizing a Hastings
project to replace the building as soon as possible, and to add capacity through the project.
Jill Hai, Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee, reported that at their November 23rd
meeting, their committee had discussed Hastings and agreed that it was a project they supported.
Steigerwald called for a motion to adjourn and said the School Committee would be moving to
Cary Memorial Building to join in a Summit. That meeting would be separately convened.
Motion to adjourn: Alessandrini, Coppe 5-0.
Meeting Materials:
School Committee Multiple School Project Updated 11/17/15 Proposal (Dated 11/18/15).
Pat Goddard’s 11/23/15 Project Cost Chart, 11/23/15.
Multiple School Project Costs Worksheet, Pat Goddard, 11/23/15.
DiNisco Packet prepared for Meeting of the BOS, SC, AC, and CEC, 11/23/15. “Multiple
Schools Construction Project.”
Place on Agenda for Committee Approval 12-15-15 Consent Agenda
Voted Approved on December 15, 2015