Bolton School Needs Assessment Committee
Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2005
MINUTES
[X] Addy Buffum
[X] Richard Fly
[X] Ted Kirchner
[X] Tom Pokorney
[X] Leigh Shanny
[X] Karen Cavaoli
[X] Joel Bates
[X] Ken Tucker
[ ] Bob Tower
[X] Margaret Campbell
[X] Panny Gerken
[X] Chris Slade
Meeting Location: Florence Sawyer Conference Room Begin: 7:07 PM End: 08:40 PM
1. The committee put together the following guidelines as Operational Rules for the Bolton School Needs Assessment Committee also referred to as BSNAC:
· It was requested that cell phones be silent during meetings with exception for emergencies.
· Meetings will start on time and if anyone is late, they will have to catch up after the meeting.
· One person talking at the same time, avoid repetition, stay on agenda.
· Any topics that come up that are off the agenda will be tabled for the next agenda.
· Keep and open mind and deal in facts.
· Voting decisions will try to be full consensus but if not possible, the majority of the quorum will be the decision. Dissenting opinion allowed in final report.
2. The Minutes from October 17, 2005 were approved by initials on hardcopy. Hardcopy will be submitted by Addy to Betsy Cussens and electronically to Linda Day. A few names were misspelled and corrected. Ted Kirchner is now on the committee in place of Chris Combs who had to step down for personal reasons. Ken Tucker is now taking over as time keeper. Tom will put time estimates on the Agenda from now on.
3. Clarification of Goals – What should the desired outcome look like? The Selectmen have requested that we meet to gather data on the space needs, timing, and how to respond to these projected needs for grades Pre-K to Eighth for a 10 to 15 year time period. Information should be gathered by March 1st if immediate funding is needed. We are not responsible for providing complete solutions; we are to provide recommendations with data to back them up. Margaret questioned if cost assumptions will be taken into consideration and the committee said that we would weigh all solutions in regards to timing, land availability, and, ultimately, costs. Although not the ultimate goal for the group but definitely taken into consideration. We need to consider all
the criteria for the best solution.
4. Brainstorming Session for Phase I - Data Gathering & Modeling. After the information was listed by the committee, it was grouped into three separate categories:
Population Forecast (Leigh Shanny with Ted Kirchner, Richard Fly and Addy Buffum):
Building permits and when on line
Affordable housing impact on numbers in regards to building permits
Historical Pre-K – 8 school population numbers including possible impact of outside town attendance which involves school choice, collaborative, and district influences
Town population projections
Area business development
Age demographics
Census data
Space Needs Trigger Points and Types; physical, FSS Administration and direction, NRSD standards (Tom Pokorney with Ken Tucker, Joel Bates, Karen Cavaoli, and Margaret Campbell):
Traffic pattern impact on schools which affects the functioning of the current school
Impact of academic programming in regards to ages and options within the district
Class size requirements/restrictions/projections
Current space available and usage
Space needs by type
Community demands on school space in regards to sports, community gatherings
Change in teaching methods, trigger points for additional space
Regulatory Guidelines both State and Federal as well as Funding (Panny Gerken with Bob Tower, and Chris Slade):
Change in state and federal requirements
School building assistance bureau funding opportunities, constraints and guidelines
Town financial considerations
Support system potential impact including the role of the waste water treatment on the school, well water, parking, trafficking
5. Project Timetable:
· November 28th: intergroup requests
· December 12th: gather existing information, list of additional data desired (if any), work plan for sub-team, vision of end product
· January 9th: subcommittee report and brainstorm solutions
NEXT MEETING: November 28th at 6:30, Florence Sawyer Conference Room
Bolton School Needs Assessment Committee minutes taken by: Addy Buffum
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