At the August 20 School Committee Meeting there was discussion of the Draft FY27 Budget Guidelines and a Pollard Middle School Building Feasibility Update.
Public Comment
A parent spoke about misinformation in regards to world conflicts, the role of schools in helping students to think critically & combating bias, and will send the committee information about antisemitism.
School Committee Comments
School Committee looks forward to a great school year ahead and will introduce their new student member in September.
Draft FY 27 Budget Guidelines
Dr. Gutekanst and Anne Gulati, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, presented the draft budget guidelines for FY27 which will be voted on at a future meeting. Best practice guidelines were developed to streamline the budget process going forward and are based on the Portrait of a Needham Graduate Strategic Plan, as well as compliance with state, local and federal guidelines. Some assumptions are made in terms of funding, class size, etc similar to past years. Details can be found in the packet.
Pollard Building Project Feasibility Study Update
Today’s discussion will first focus on the project’s educational plan and then will have an update on the feasibility study and MSBA process. At a future meeting SC will vote on this educational plan. Details can be found in the packet (pages 22-118).
Jessica Downey, Principal of High Rock School, presented on the Middle School Educational Program goals.
- District leadership & educational teams focused on what programming students will need for the next 50 years.
- High Rock as a separate 6th grade school was developed because of space needs at Pollard and was intended to be a temporary solution. While it has been a successful program, High Rock and Pollard are both currently overcrowded. Neither school has large enough common spaces to allow collaborative, interactive working environments. As High Rock was originally an elementary school, the gym, cafeteria and library have insufficient space for middle school programming. More space is also needed for special education and other supports for students.
- It is also costly and inefficient to operate two separate middle schools. There are logistical staffing & space issues that limit the programming that is available to students.
- While the MSBA process requires evaluating keeping the two school model, and this is still being studied, the current School Master Plan preference is to reunite grades 6-8 and provide a cohesive and progressive learning journey over the 3 grades; 6th grade will remain cohorted together within the new design.
- HMFH’s goal is to design a building that will support the needs and goals outlined in the educational plan.
- Continue to utilize a cluster teaming model
- Physical spaces and facilities that support the wide range of activities and educational programs are essential. The goal is to have flexible and adaptable spaces that can evolve with future needs.
- The educational program must meet students at all academic levels, have spaces to allow collaboration and interdisciplinary learning, and facilitate student growth and development of their own identity during adolescence.
- Hank Haff, Needham’s Director of Building Design and Construction, noted that while a grade 7-8 School would be smaller and therefore less expensive to build initially, it would not solve the logistical and space issues at High Rock. Also it would not provide the flexibility to use High Rock for future needs (swing space during Mitchell renovation, a future 6th elementary school, etc). Building a grade 6-8 School now will better meet the district’s educational programming goals and will also allow much more flexibility for space needs in the future, leading to long term cost savings on future projects.
School Committee expressed their appreciation for the comprehensive educational program planning, asked questions and engaged in discussion.
HMFH then presented an update on their analysis of design options so far. Detailed slides are available in the packet.
Facility goals:
An Addition/Renovation to Pollard would take the longest time to complete due to the need to complete construction in multiple phases to accommodate students in the building. HMFH estimates that a new construction project could be completed 2 years earlier than an addition/renovation project.
DeFazio Jurisdictional Status is divided between the School Committee, Parks & Recreation, and the Select Board. During the search for a site for the new Hillside School, the DeFazio site was researched, and the yellow area (parking lot, tot lot) was considered as an option for a future elementary school. After this evaluation, the town acquired the Owen’s Poultry Farm site and the Sunita Williams Elementary School was built on Central Avenue instead. DeFazio remains the only other site available for new school construction. However, this yellow boundary would likely need to be expanded a bit to fit a larger middle school.
- HMFH is currently studying a Pollard Addition/Renovation, New Construction at the Pollard Site (on the fields behind current building), and New Construction at DeFazio.
- They are analyzing logistics of how all options would work in terms of timing, construction space needs for vehicles, equipment laydown, field availability, etc.
- The diagrams shown are initial ideas of how a building might be placed on each site, not the final design.
- Pollard Addition/Renovation
Due to students in the building during active construction, this would need to occur in 3 phases, to allow for shifting of students to new wings while others are under construction. This approach would take the longest amount of time, increasing costs.
2. New Construction at Pollard Site
There are building constraints due to limited site size and proximity to train tracks. Building on this site would require a 4 story school (due to slope it would appear to be 2 stories from Harris Avenue).
3. New Construction at DeFazio
Main construction would occur on the parking lot/tot lot area, with no impact to DPW Yard. There would be some disruption to use of playing fields for athletics & recreation during construction, but afterwards new fields and a tot lot would be added to Pollard site, with potential to keep Pollard gyms for a sports center.
HMFH created a Draft Options Matrix to help compare how each option meets the goals of the project. The goals list has been modified after input from community and other committees and will continue to be refined with feedback.
- weighs pros & cons of each option against a set of goals (educational, facilities, community, logistical) to provide a framework for making a decision on the best option for Needham
- also compares a 7-8 grade school (880 students) vs a 6-8 school (1335 students)
- initial evaluation seems to favor new construction of a 6-8 school, but analysis continues and a decision has not yet been made.
Parking evaluation is also underway to ensure adequate parking for school & community use.
School Committee asked questions and engaged in discussion. Highlights:
- They noted that no decision has been made on what project the town will undertake and they welcome community feedback.
- The Needham community has expressed a lot of interest in developing a new larger theater through this project; this would only be possible in a new construction option.
- Discussed if some goals should be weighted more than others.
- Costs for each option are not yet available, but analysis is in progress and some preliminary info will be presented at the PPBC meeting next week
- Zoom community meeting on Aug 21 at 6:30pm to discuss the project
- More info can be found at the Pollard Project Website. Interested community members can also sign up for e-mail updates on the website.
The next School Committee Meeting will be September 2 at 6:30pm.