HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-12-17 Coolidge School Council Minutes4-
School Council Meeting December 17, 1996
Present: John Carpenter, John Doherty, Marie Pink, Renee Sbaschnig, Dr. Harutunian
Dr. Harutuman came to discuss the school improvement/building plans.
Concerns of parents have been that Coolidge is not as new as Parker and might not be
able to offer the same programs because of a lack of space. The question was raised by
John Carpenter: How do I convince my child to go to Coolidge?
Dr. Harutunian responded that decisions have been made in the Town of Reading
based on need.
When Dr. Harutunian arrived in Reading, he inherited some problems:
♦ Portable classrooms
♦ Roof at Birch Meadow is in need of repair
♦ Parker was in dire need of renovation
♦ High school is old and needs many renovations
• Dr. Harutunian told the School Council that he has done a projection of future
enrollment through 1998.
Currently we are operating above capacity.
• Dr. Harutunian recognizes that we need some renovations done at Coolidge. He must
show the Town of Reading that the demographics are changing.
• What we need to do is based on how much money we recieve.
We could receive anywhere from $500,00044,000,000.
Has already allotted $23,000 for an architect, beginning in April of 1997.
This could become a Project Category 2 because of the over-enrollment
problem.
• There is a possibility of turning the library into a lecture-type room and building a new
library.
We could get some SPAB funding for this.
• Ideally we should add a sixth grade "wing" to ease the transition between fifth and
sixth grade. .
• In terms other projects, there is a possibility of moving the high school out of the
school complex and turning that land into town fields.
• In terms of budget, largest item in 1998 budget is maintenance.
Sincerely,
Renee Sbasc ` g
January 7, 1996