Present: T. Koenig, S. Heinrich, D. Miller, W. Morrison, and School Board liaison P. McGrath.
J. Heinrich arrived during the meeting.
Absent: M. Morrison
S. Heinrich called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. He announced that both Jim O'Neil and Jay Minkarah were unable to attend but would be attending the December 2nd meeting. He asked the committee to continue the discussions started at the prior meeting about the process and the information needed to complete the School Board Charge.
As first order of business he asked each member for an opinion.
W. Morrison gave the opinion that on January 3rd, the committee would report where the committee saw the greatest need and offer suggestions to alleviate the situation. He hoped the committee would eventually put together a long range plan that would indicate points at which new space will be needed. He felt when build-out was reached was not important as long as there was a plan for additional space to accommodate the needs of the additional population. However, for January 3rd, he felt a preliminary report would not need to contain the level of detail that a long range plan would contain.
T. Koenig opined that the committee would probably be suggesting a new building but only after careful analysis of current space usage and the potential space gained with the high school addition. He also suggested that the current elementary space is sufficient if the elementary schools are redistricted .
D. Miller indicated that analysis of all available data is the only way to come up with a viable recommendation. He said he has heard many people suggesting that the best solution is a new high school. He felt that, at the very least, a capital reserve fund for construction should be established for future building.
S. Heinrich agreed that a capital reserve fund would be a good plan. He felt a new building would be needed soon and wondered about restructuring the grade level mix in the schools. He wanted to ask administrators what would be educationally sound.
The next issue raised was the format of the space utilization inventory. It needs to be updated with new maps and square footage for new rooms. The committee will try to determine the maximum theoretical space in each school and then determine the maximum recommended and acceptable capacity of each building based on state standards. T. Koenig wanted to be sure that terms recommended and acceptable are defined and that it is understood that a quality educational product can be produced at acceptable capacity levels. The committee will need to determine how much SPED space is needed in each school as well as what special study/ancillary spaces should be set aside and not used when determining building capacity. Further, the committee decided to look at the administrative and ancillary spaces to be sure they were large enough to deal with the maximum acceptable capacity of each building. It was decided that elementary schools do not need to indicate minute by minute usage for the various grade homerooms. S. Heinrich felt that each school should have some type of flexible space which could be reconfigured as needed. He also indicated the need to remove SPED areas from storage areas/closets. He also wanted to be sure that the libraries and cafeterias at each building could accommodate their capacities. W. Morrison suggested that square footage per student also be used to determine capacity numbers. He reminded the committee that secondary social studies classrooms have a 35/40 (acceptable/recommended) square foot requirement per student, and that kindergarten requires 1,000 square foot classrooms or some number per student. He also pointed out the format used by Mr. Walker at the high school noting room dimensions, recommended/acceptable square footage, recommended/acceptable capacity, as well current usage. This chart also alluded to 80% utilization as being the standard indicator of being at maximum capacity. He felt revising the space utilization inventory to include this information would be advantageous.
It was decided to write to each principal requesting they bring updated maps and utilization figures, capacity figures for the cafeterias including the number of tables and chair space, lists of classes that take place in alternate spaces and any space issues they might want the committee to consider.
On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by J. Heinrich, the committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Last Updated: July 16, 2000 by Wayne Morrison