Meeting began at 7:00 PM

Kim was not here, so Ann took minutes.

Narrative is not finished yet. Martie had an outline but Jay has been out of town so they weren't able to get together. It was decided that Martie and Jay can write the final report from the outline, but Martie wanted guidance on how to present the minority opinions. She suggested those with minority opinions write those sections. David Taylor said the rationale behind the minority opinions is very important to the Board. It was eventually decided that Martie and Jay could pretty much present the minority opinions from the minutes of previous meetings.

Ed Smith wants included a statement regarding the cost of maintaining the extended facility to make the public aware of the impact on future operating budgets. It was felt that everything should be laid on the table in front of the voters. This might help instill more trust in the Board.

Dave Penniman reiterated that it is important to try to keep the operating budget down (e.g., by hiring teachers below Step 5) so the total impact on taxes will not be quite as great.

The more the building is delayed the greater the increase in building costs and operating costs will be.

Martie asked about the article in the paper regarding the August 12 school board's discussion on the gym and the possible elimination of interscholastic basketball. Chris said the architect left the meetingwith the understanding that basketball should stay. NEASC does address the gym in its report.

Ed and Dave P. believe that construction materials are probably more critical than the size of the gym in determining cost. The board should make sure that it is really cost effective to have a smaller gym (3 PE stations rather than 4) before downsizing from last year's proposal.

Gail Kelley noted that the Rochester Opera House was originally built in such a way that it could be used for basketball by mechanically changing the floor. The seating capacity we are recommending for the performing arts center is for 1/2 the school population. She believes it is academically important to play/perform for the whole school. She indicated she believes we should find a new spot on the property and build a large auditorium. David T. feels that an increase of seating to 750 to 800 is not academically useful enough to warrant such an increase in cost and that this would kill the whole deal. Gail disagrees. It was noted that the Johnson Theater has about 700 seats, but no one was sure how big the Dover Auditorium is.

Pete recommended wiring the gym in the back for sound. It won't help acoustics, but at least those in the back could hear.

Gail went on to say that Exeter has been looking for a new performing arts center and have found a house they want to renovate. They were given 60 days to raise $1 million. They have raised over $500,000 in something less than that time. She believes that if given the time funds could be raised to cover much of the cost of a larger auditorium. She believes the board and the administration should be part of this fund-raising. Ed feels time is against us to do a big auditorium. Gail suggested that if music, etc., are left where they are and the visual arts were moved to the old cafeteria, a larger auditorium could eventually be put onto the back. This way the rest of the construction could be started and there would be more time to fund raise for the auditorium. Gail said the size of the old stage is inadequate. Dave P. said he assumed there would be a new stage. Gail said she was sure the architect said they couldn't widen it much for some reason. Chris said the teachers support the proposal for a 450-500 seat PAC.

The board needs to be very clear and clean about what is being asked for and why, then stick to it

Ed again stressed the importance of spreaded the cost out (20 - 25 years to lessen the tax burden, even though we will be paying more interest in the long run

Gail expressed her dissatisfaction with Baybutt. Her understanding is that they have the same contract they had in 1992, which was general and open-ended. David T. thought there had to be new papers from last year, but Gail didn't think so. She said she heard that the school board was advised to choose Baybutt because, since it does appear to be such an open-ended contract, they might sue for breach of contract otherwise. She feels they have used strong-arm tactics and have given us shoddy workmanship at the middle school. She then resigned from the committee, saying her usefulness was over. She doesn't understand why people in this community won't support something like this.

David T. pointed out that there has been much scaling down all the way around. No one is getting exactly what they want.

Martie and Jay will write the narrative and send us copies to read. We will then meet again on September 9 and 7 PM in the library to discuss it.

Meeting was adjourned around 9:30.

Last update on 29-Mar-99 at 9:31 PM.

http://www.orol.org/schools/orhs/orgs/cac/minutes_980813.html

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