At the Sept 2 SC meeting there was discussion of the Pollard Building Project Feasibility Study, the Pollard Middle School Education Plan, and a Resolution Recommending School Building Committee/Permanent Public Building Committee Approval of the Submission of the Pollard Preliminary Design Program (PDP) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
Public Comment
3 Community members spoke about the Pollard project, stating:
- the desire for a larger theatre space to support the performing arts
- a preference for maintaining a separate 6th grade school
- a request that more affordable options be considered
School Committee Comments
- Thank you to the students, staff and families for a successful start to the new school year!
- Introduced Jack Arvedon, the new student representative to the School Committee
Superintendent’s Comments
- Dr Gutekanst notes that buses are rolling, students are in class and while there are always a few hiccups at the start of the year, things are off to a good start. He looks forward to student & staff visits to future School Committee meetings to provide updates.
DISCUSSION ITEM
Pollard Building Project Feasibility Study Update
Dr Gutekanst and the team from HMFH Architects presented an update on the Pollard Building Project Feasibility Study.
- Design is driven by the Middle School Education Plan which builds off High Rock & Pollard School improvement plans, Portrait of a Needham Graduate, State curriculum guidelines, and the guiding educational principles developed through previous visioning work. This Plan will be voted on by School Committee later this evening and submitted to the MSBA. The Education plan can be found in the packet.
Overall School Master Plan is a sequential plan beginning with a grade 6-8 Pollard project, which makes High Rock available for swing space while Mitchell is being renovated, and for other future uses.
- Both Pollard and High Rock are undersized and have significant space issues.
- While MSBA requires studying a baseline repair to Pollard, this option does not meet the goals for the project.
Other options being presented to MSBA in this first part of the feasibility study include addition/renovation to Pollard, a new construction school on the Pollard site, and a new construction school at DeFazio. All options are still being analyzed in both a grade 6-8 option and a grade 7-8 option. None of the grade 7-8 options successfully meet the educational plan.
- HMFH has created an options matrix as a tool to help compare how well the options meet the project goals. This matrix has been updated after feedback from previous meetings with a variety of town committees.
- HMFH’s cost estimator and a 3rd party cost estimator evaluated all the options and came up with a range of comparative probable costs. This analysis includes the whole scope of the project, including creation of new fields pictured in some options.
- All 7 of the above options will continue to be explored in the feasibility study.
School Committee members asked questions and engaged in discussion. Highlights:
- The goal of the School Committee is to advocate for the educational plan and design that will best meet the needs of all our students, and they appreciate the analysis of these 7 options as well as the detailed educational plan that can be found in the packet.
- In a grade 6-8 school, there would still be the cluster teaching model for students to create smaller communities; 6th grade center will remain somewhat separated from grades 7-8 within the building.
- Not only does a grade 7-8 school not meet the educational plan, but it also does not free up High Rock, requiring construction of temporary swing space for the Mitchell renovation (previous estimates indicate that this temporary swing space could cost $40million).
- While High Rock was a good solution for the time and has been a successful program, a combined 6-8 school will far better meet the future educational & community goals for the project.
- This is the beginning of the feasibility process. Now they will take a deeper dive into each option to evaluate the challenges and opportunities at each site.
- The School Committee welcomes community input and feedback.
ACTION ITEMS
Vote on the Pollard Middle School Education Plan
- Many thanks to the administration, principals and staff who developed this 100 page education plan.
- Dr Gutekanst recommends that the School Committee approve the submission of the Pollard Middle School Education Plan to the MSBA.
- Approved 7-0-0.
Resolution Recommending School Building Committee/Permanent Public Building Committee Approval of the Submission of the Pollard Preliminary Design Program (PDP) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA)
- Approved 7-0-0
- The Permanent Public Building Committee (PPBC)/School Building Committee (SBC) will have a joint meeting later this evening and take a vote on the PDP submission to the MSBA.
School Committee Comments
- The Next Pollard community listening session is on Sept 10 at 6:30pm in person at Pollard and on Zoom
- There will be upcoming tours of Pollard so interested community members can see the current building
- School Committee members will be available at the Harvest Fair
- Welcome to new school staff! Thank you to the administration for the on-boarding process and welcome event.
The Next School Committee meeting will be on September 16 at 6:30pm