1999-09-28 School Committee Minutes - School Building Committee

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READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE Reading, Massachusetts Joint Meeting with School Building Committee September 28,1999 CALL TO ORDER At 7:38 Chair, Pete Dahl called the Reading School Committee to order. Present were School Committee members Cavicchi, Dahl, Twomey and Keigley. Also present were Superintendent Harutunian and High School Principal Frank Orlando. At 7:40 Chair Graham called the School Building Committee meeting to order. Present were members Sanstad, Finigan, Radville, Lupi, LaCroix, Graham, Perry and Strueble. Superintendent Harutunian introduced Mr.Gene Raymond, Architect, Strekalovsky & Hoit and Mr. Sid Bowen, Architect, Earl R. Flansburg & Associates. Dr. Harutunian stated that both boards were brought together so that the architects could bring everyone up to date on the high school feasibility study and the elementary feasibility study. He went on to say that two years ago Drummey, Rosane, Anderson, Inc in a feasibility study stated that we should see a decrease in enrollment. We have not seen a decrease in enrollment. The School Committee, at a prior meeting decided, that a new high school would not be built. The plans would be geared more towards a major renovation. The School Committee gave input to the Architect and a new plan was developed. The current plan is being referred too as option C.3. The School Building Committee met in July and voted to move the Dividence Road project forward. Mr. Bowen explained that he would work closely with the School Committee on the planning of Dividence Road. He recommends the same strategy as last year due to the fact that really nothing has changed. The enrollment numbers are fundamentally the same. He stated that NESDEC used a "cohort survival" rate. He defined "cohort survival" as a statistical measure referring to the percentage of births in town that stay in town until they attend kindergarten. One also has to factor in the percentage of people who move into town just before the child attends kindergarten and the percentage of children who attend private kindergarten and go on to grade one. There was conversation regarding the effects of the change in kindergarten age. There was a decrease in the projected number of children starting kindergarten this year due to the change in the starting age. Those students will be added to the projected number that