Mr. Rief discussed his general views as to the goal of the Committee's work and general consensus was reached that the goal was to reach a decision on options for addressing the future space needs of the High School, keeping in mind that October was an end-date for presenting the options.
Given the alert that Mr. John Powers had previously made to the Committee re: the growing High School population, it was agreed that the general goal was to bring high school curriculum needs and facilities needs towards a common ground.
After reviewing the materials provided by the SAU office re: previous plans, studies, etc. as to future high school expansion, the Committee reached a consensus decision to use the 850 student projected enrollment as the model for future expansion. The decision was based on Long Range Planning Committee projections, as well as an "optimal number" model for High School education. Mr. Elwell pointed out that an 850 student population had been determined to be, programatically, an optimal size for a high school. Although the Committee decided to use the 850 projection number, all agreed to revisit the issue after the LRPC issued an updated projection, perhaps as early as June.
Mr. Rief next suggested discussing a timeline for the Committee's work. He noted that it would probably be wise to get as much done as possible prior to the summer.
The Committee also discussed several options which may determine whether or not physical expansion of the facilities necessarily would be an option. First, the Committee discussed regrading so that the High School would be a grades 10-12 school. Mr. Nichols suggested asking faculty at the Middle School and High School the pluses and minuses of regrading as an option. Al Elwell agreed to provide a summary of the rationale behind the regrading of the Middle School to a 5-8 school. A consensus was reached that the Committee would determine a rationale in the future for either considering or not the option of regrading.
Also discussed was the option of holding a year round schedule and a split-session schedule to alleviate crowding at the High School. Al Elwell noted that there was report produced by CEFS in 1991 regarding the option of a year-round schedule. He noted that at that time, the general idea of the report was that the population was not large enough to support a year round school, in addition to other pitfalls of the idea. Mr. Elwell noted that some schools in the state had employed split sessions to temporarily alleviate overcrowding. Mr. Nichols noted that a report from the schools which have tried split sessions would be valuable information. Mr. Lewis recalled that the impact on the community and extra-curricular activities was disastrous when year-round scheduling had been used in other communities. He also noted that he would like Mr. Elwell to give a short presentation on the history of the discussion re: year long and split session scheduling.
Mr. Rief stated that he would like the NEASC Accredidations/facilities Committee to have a joint meeting with the HSSNSC in order to discuss their thoughts on different options to deal with growth.
Mr. Rief asked Mr. Elwell to enquire of Mr. Powers what resources would be available to the Committee in its on-going efforts. Mr. Elwell agreed to do so. Also, Mr. Rief asked Mr. Elwell to present, in conjunction with Mr. Penniman, a short report to the Committee on the various plans that have been explored in the past re: high school expansion. In this manner, the Committee will be able to take full advantage of the work which has proceeded them.
A timeline was discussed for future work. A meeting will take place on May 21, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. at which time Mr. Elwell and Mr. Penniman will give their report. On Thursday; May 30, 1996 at 7:00, a joint meeting with the NEASC Accredidation/facilities Committee will take place. On Tuesday, June 11, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. a meeting will take place during which a synthesis of ideas presented to date will occur.
Dave Nichols and Al Elwell were charged with calling schools which have employed block scheduling to see if it has had an effect on space utilization.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Recording Secretary,
Eileen L. Koehler
Commons
Schools
Newsstand
Library
Voting Booth
Soapbox
Last update on 31-Mar-99 at 9:41 PM.
http://www.orol.org/schools/orhs/orgs/space_needs/minutes_960430.html
This page is edited by David K. Taylor. Please send questions or comments to editor@orol.org.