Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee
Minutes of the May 13, 2002 Meeting
Present: K. Powell, M. Morrison, C. Morrison, W. Morrison, S. Heinrich, T. Koenig (arrived during the meeting)
Guests: Superintendent M. Chiafery, Business Adminstrator M. Shevenell, Mastricola Middle School Principal and
Assistant Principals T. Levesque, P Bergeron and W. Morris
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM by W. Morrison.
Middle School Space Issues
W. Morrison told the committee that the purpose of this meeting was to brainstorm and discuss ideas to help alleviate the
space situation at the middle school. The only criteria was that the ideas should be structure related rather than schedule
related. He noted that the School Board would be meeting on May 28th and M. Chiafery has requested as many committee members
as possible attend.
T. Levesque noted that the situation at the middle school is currently stressful and the administration would like to make a
statement to the public without creating additional stress or a bad situation. The committee agreed that any temporary space
solution should have the best educational impact and the least negative impact on the children. The cost of any proposed
temporary space solutions is also a concern. C. Morrison was concerned that if it takes a long time to pass a new middle
school, then the district may have to ask for another school almost immediately to deal with an increased elementary school
population.
Some options discussed included:
- Using the "old" maintenance area of approximately 1,350 sq ft. when the new maintenance building is completed, hopefully
in September.
- Using the gymnasium for 1 or 2 classrooms. Issues here include where to hold PE classes as all students currently take
PE.
- Double sessions for grades 5 & 6 and grades 7 & 8. This will ease the overcrowding and create the upper
elementary/middle school model that will be in effect when the new school is opened. There will be no impact on programming,
but significant impact on families, bussing, etc.
- Portables or Modular Classrooms. This could be perceived as a solution rather than a stop-gap measure. Would portables
create a distraction from the real space issue.
- Leasing space at Our Lady of Mercy Church or the First Congregational Church to be used for SpEd testing or specialists.
By consensus, the committee decided a good way to proceed was to make a list of all possible alternatives and list both pros
and cons for each and that this list should be presented to the School Board. A straw poll showed that the committee
favored using the library as dividing the Reeds Ferry Library had had a positive impact on a building proposal in the past.
M. Morrison felt that the school population was not slated to change drastically over the next two years and possibly,
the school could continue as is. T. Levesque felt that doing nothing might indicate that the situation is not as serious as
described. He noted that the district wants to do something to reduce the World Language class sizes.
M. Chiafery requested that the committee meet with the middle school administration again on May 20th at 7 PM to refine the
list of options. It was noted that the School Board had charged the Administration with this task, but the Administration
has asked for PBC help and support with both the "solution" and the presentation to the School Board. M. Chiafery thanked
the committee for their time, ideas and support.
Other Business
The next regular meeting of the committee will be June 10th. W. Morrison told the committee he wants to update or re-write
committee Goals & Objectives as this hasn't been done for several years. C. Morrison would like information regarding
regulations on fire lanes. She noted that one of the things the committee might be doing is revisiting parking lots in the
Mastricola complex and she is concerned about the size of the fire lanes. K. Powell requested that, in the future, she would
like there to be more structure to presentations to the committee and less interruptions from the committee. She also asked
for clarification about what part the committee would play in any presentation of space ideas from the Administration to the
School Board.
On a motion from S. Heinrich, seconded by M. Morrison, the committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Planning & Building Committee
Merrimack School District
Last Updated: April 1, 2003 by Wayne Morrison