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COMMENTARY School Building Plans Move Forward Decommissioning of Center School Creates New Space Needs Former Building Committee to Be Reconstituted
By David Hamacher
February 18, 2007 — During a school district facilities planning meeting held on January 22nd members of the school committee, school administration, and Hopkinton Facilities Board, determined: that Center School will not be renovated as a school; it is still necessary to replace the single boiler at Center School; renovations will begin on Elmwood; and capital articles will be put on the warrant at the Annual Town Meeting in May for Middle School roof and wall repairs and the boiler replacement. The current plan calls for building a new PreK-Kindergarten Center on the grounds of Elmwood, renovating both Elmwood and Hopkins School to accommodate more classrooms as Hopkinton moves toward the school districting model planned several years ago. At that time, the plan for accommodating the expanding student population was to build the new elementary school and early childhood center on Fruit Street, and then convert both Elmwood and Hopkins to district schools so that all elementary schools taught grades 1-5. These plans were delayed due to the opposition vote for the $3.8 million override in May, 2003 which would have moved the design process forward. Instead, an override of 900K was approved in June, 2003, shelving construction plans for the new elementary school. Funding for necessary design plans for the new elementary school, early childhood center, and Elmwood renovations was approved for $3 million by voters in the May 2005 capital article. The former elementary school building committee then hired Construction Counsel and negotiated terms and conditions for Owner’s Project Manager under the revised state statutes for new school building construction (Chapter 149A). These efforts were then waylaid by the newly updated enrollment forecast in June, 2006 by NESDC (New England School Development Council). The abrupt and unexplained fluctuations in enrollment figures from NESDC (which had been respected as the leading authority in enrollment projections for Massachusetts for several years), has now led the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) to bring enrollment projections in-house for greater control. FULL STORY MSBA has adopted new regulations for school construction and one of the new regulations is the formation of a school building committee. Hopkinton (the Eligible Applicant) shall now formulate a school building committee to monitor the process and advise during the construction of an approved project. According to one regulation (963 CMR: 2.10: [3]), it is recommendation that the building committee include one or more of the following: local CEO of the Eligible Applicant; at least one member of the school committee; superintendent of schools; local official responsible for building maintenance; representative of body authorized by law to construct school buildings; school principal from subject school; a member who has knowledge of the education mission and function of the facility; local budget official or member of finance committee; members of the community with architecture, engineering, or construction experience to provide advice relative to the effect of the proposed project on the community. After four and a half years and being inactivated on two different occasions, a majority of the members of the elementary school building committee has resigned. The school committee will reconstitute the committee with remaining members, and augment them with others who fit within the definition of the new regulations noted above. Quotes were due today (Feb 16th) with responses from four potential vendors to a Request for Proposal for a Land Use Study at Elmwood to determine whether or not it is possible to build a New Early Childhood Center there in addition to renovations that have long been identified for Elmwood. In addition to the identified renovations, additional modifications will need to be made to accommodate classrooms for grades 1-5 under the revised plan. Because the New Early Childhood Center will be new construction, the designer selection process will begin through the reconstituted building committee, if and when the land use study reveals necessary space can be accommodated at the Elmwood site. Plans for Elmwood renovations, design of the new early childhood center, and adding classrooms at both Elmwood and Hopkins will be funded from the original 3MM approved by voters in May, 2005. Funding the necessary building costs will need to approved by voters at a later date but will not be addressed at the annual town meeting in May, 2007.
Editor's Note: David Hamacher submitted this commentary on Friday. He is the former Chairman of the Fruit Street Elementary School Building Committee. |
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