Present: S. Heinrich, B. Triolo, T. Koenig, M. Morrison, W. Morrison
and School Board liaison J. Flis, several members of the press and public
Excused: D. Miller
S. Heinrich called the meeting to order at 7:34 P.M. and welcomed the people who had come to attend the meeting.
On a motion from M. Morrison, D. Miller was nominated as Assistant Chair. There were no other nominations. The vote was unanimous.
On a motion from B. Triolo, S. Heinrich was nominated as Chair. There were no other nominations. The vote was unanimous.
T. Koenig agreed with Mrs. Marcel's intent. He indicated that he had made a similar suggestion. His proposal called for Mastricola Elementary School to house grades 5-6 with the Ferry schools and a new elementary school housing grades K-4.
Mrs. Marcel was asked what piece of property she would suggest for a new school. She had no property in mind. She was asked about including kindergarten and had no objection to this. She also indicated that there were many issues that would need to be resolved such as busing and redistricting.
B. Triolo stated that the committee needs to remember the needs of the students. He feels that the ninth grade belongs in the high school. He also noted that the committee needs to consider immediate, short and long term solutions.
M. Morrison noted that a reorganization such as Mrs. Marcel suggested might have a major impact on the curriculum and educational philosophy of the high school. He also suggested considering Mastricola Middle School space needs as part of long term school district space issue solution.
J. Flis felt that the district should provide space to offer the curriculum that the students need rather than remove the ninth grade.
W. Morrison noted that the curriculum currently offered is driven by the space available rather than space usage being driven by the curriculum. He wants the committee to look at the big picture and put together a plan to provide space for the curriculum the district wants to offer in the long term while dealing in the short term with the current space situation.
B. Triolo noted a major concern during the upcoming accreditation will be the current issue of space at the high school.
S. Heinrich noted that Bill Marston, Merrimack High Principal, had been unable to attend the meeting but was planning to attend the committee's next meeting on April 14, 1998. Further, the School Board wants an update on committee progress/plans regarding the high school space issues at its next meeting. However, since Mr. Marston had been unable to attend the meeting, S. Heinrich wanted J. Flis to explain to the School Board what the committee has done so far in regard to information gathering and what additional information they are gathering. The committee received copies of the School Board minutes discussing the high school space needs charge, as well as the 2 year and 5 year interim high school accreditation reports. They will still need the original complete accreditation report.
M. Morrison wanted the committee to formalize a plan as soon as possible and then give regular updates to the School Board. He would like to see a step-by-step outline of what has to be done. He wants to have curriculum needs defined and determine what space that curriculum needs in order to compare with what space is currently available.
B. Triolo wanted to invite the School Board to a meeting to give them an update on committee research and have a dialogue on the issues with the them.
S. Heinrich suggested the second meeting in April could be dedicated to this. By consensus, the committee decided to invite the School Board to attend a meeting hosted by the committee.
J. Flis will extend the invitation to the School Board and offer them a choice of April 21 or 28 as dates for this meeting. He cautioned the committee not to do more than the School Board wants. B. Triolo pointed out this is the reason for having a dialogue with the School Board. He further wanted to know is June 1 is the absolute deadline for the committee report. J. Flis told him that School Board would want at least a preliminary report by this date.
S. Heinrich thanked Mrs. Marcel for bringing her proposal to the committee.
John Weaver stated that he felt that the lack of high school accreditation may not have a major impact on the education that students receive. He likes the idea of moving the ninth grade to the middle school but wondered what impact this would have on the teaching staff. B. Triolo noted that the committee will be making a recommendation to the School Board and they also have to consider selling whatever idea based on what the public will accept.
Ron Bailey noted that the committee has to look realistically at what the community can afford. He wanted to know if Merrimack High can be expanded. He felt that the current location of the high school is ideal and is in keeping with the idea of a town center, especially since the new track will be built there. W. Morrison noted that the PBC will probably not recommend a new high school, but it will recommend a solution. S. Heinrich noted that there are two ways the high school can be added onto. J. Flis told Mr. Bailey that the committee will give a recommendation to the School Board and the goal of the whole process is to come up with a solution that works and is palatable to the voter. Mr. Bailey suggested that the committee continue to gather information and then formulate a plan. M. Morrison told Mr. Bailey that the committee is still gathering information as well as deciding what information to gather. He also noted the need for remembering the long term and not coming up with a short term solution which causes long term problems.
Mrs. Marcel asked what site the committee might recommend for a new school. W. Morrison told her that the committee has requested complete surveys for the Buker, Timmins and rest of Thorntons Ferry sites. He said the committee felt it could not make any recommendations until they had enough facts about these various properties.
The committee wanted to know what had happened to their request for a land survey. J. Flis explained that the high school space situation is of higher priority than adding kindergarten. He said that the high school is an existing feature that needs repair as opposed to kindergarten which would be an enhancement to the district. He also reiterated the June 1 deadline on the high school space issue.
W. Morrison stated that all the issues are tied together. He wants to be sure that whatever the committee proposes looks at the past, the present and the future. He noted that all the pieces should fit together.
B. Triolo wanted to know whether there was money for a survey. J.Flis reminded the committee that when the request had come before the School Board, it was early in the current fiscal year which was being funded through a default budget. He indicated that the district might now be in a better position to determine if there was some money that could be put toward a survey. W. Morrison said that if the School Board wants the committee to do a good job, they should provide the needed information.
The following dates will be posted as alternate/as needed dates:
Ron Bailey asked for more information regarding both the Buker and Timmins sites: How long has the district owned the site? Has the district proposed schools on these sites? What is some of the history and problems surrounding the sites? Is either site really suitable for school construction without major work? J. Flis told him this was one of the reasons why the committee wanted these sites completely surveyed. He indicated that the committee wanted to determine once and for all, if the sites were suitable for a school or not. S. Heinrich noted that, when the committee had done a land search throughout town for sites of over twenty-five acres, they discovered that Buker was no better or worse than most other sites of this size in town that were undeveloped at the time. W. Morrison reminded the committee and the audience that the district does own these properties and land preparation costs were probably equivalent or less that what it would take to purchase other property. Mr. Bailey wanted to know if the district had ever considered selling or swapping either the Buker or Timmins sites. There was a general discussion about the current usage of all land owned by the district.
Mrs. Marcel asked what was necessary to get a survey funded.
Martha Bailey asked about the safety issues that might be raised if a school was built on the Buker site. S. Heinrich told her that, if a school was proposed, safety issues would be identified and dealt with.
On a motion from M. Morrison, seconded by T. Koenig, the committee unanimously voted to adjourn at 10:10 P.M.
Last Updated: May 21, 1998 by Wayne Morrison