The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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Lincoln-Sudbury walkout planned after alleged sexual assault of student in 2013

In the wake of a sexual assault lawsuit recently filed against Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, some students have planned a walkout for 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 29.

L-S Superintendent/Principal Bella Wong noted in an email to the L-S community on Sunday night that the walkout is permitted by school policy. However, non-L-S individuals who aren’t already at the school for a specific school-related purpose will be excluded from campus during the event.

The school as well as Wong, Director of Special Education and Director of Student Services Aida Ramos, and East House Housemaster/Associate Principal Leslie Patterson were sued  on April 24 by a former student who claims the school discriminated against her and inflicted emotional distress after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by two other students in 2013.

Allegations in the lawsuit include the following (the plaintiff is referred to as“Jane Roe” and the two boys are not named):

  • During a football game at the high school on November 1, 2013, Jane was lured to an adjacent field by the boys, who assaulted her on the bleachers of the field adjacent to the football field and in an unlocked storage shed near the bleachers. “Although Jane tried to resist, the perpetrators forced Jane to perform oral sex and penetrated her with their fingers.”
  • In text messages to Jane afterwards, “both perpetrators admit to having acted improperly and [begged] for Jane’s forgiveness and silence.” One of them told her he was terrified of going to “juvie” and losing his girlfriend if the incident became public. He tried to persuade Jane to keep silent by indicating that he was crying, to which Jane said that she’d “been crying ever since I left u guys,” and continued, “I resisted… I tried to run away… you both raped me.” In a separate text exchange with the other boy, Jane confronted him for attempting to justify his actions to another classmate by saying he was ‘drunk and high’.”
  • Six days after the incident, Jane reported it to L-S clinical counselor Sue Leichtman, who notified Patterson and Jane’s mother, a Lincoln-Sudbury teacher. Jane also showed screenshots of the text messages between her and the boys. Sudbury police subsequently began investigating. Jane’s parents obtained Harassment Prevention Orders from Middlesex County Juvenile Court to prohibit the boys from interacting with her.
  • Though Jane returned to school on November 12, she was unable to attend classes because the boys were allowed to remain in school and shared classes with her. Patterson therefore had her sit in the East House common area for most of the day. “She was not assigned work to complete and had little to no interaction with teachers, counselors or other Lincoln-Sudbury personnel. She spent her days sitting alone, listening to her iPod” while a steady stream of students, including the boys, passed through the area to check their mailboxes.
  • Wong told Jane’s parents that the school could not give them information about any investigation or discipline, citing privacy concerns because “the perpetrators were allegedly special education students, as was Jane.”
  • L-S did not provide Jane with any counseling or therapy services. She began seeing a therapist at her family’s expense.
  • On November 20, Patterson told Jane’s parents that L-S was finally allowed by the police to conduct its own investigation of Jane’s allegations, but that the school was not allowed to talk to the perpetrators and had no authority to punish or remove them from the school.
  • Because the school could not adequately support Jane or keep her apart at all times from the boys, it suggested she enroll in a therapeutic school, EDCO Collaborative School (then in Watertown). The district denied the Roes’ request for Jane to attend a different equivalent public or private school closer to home; also, her EDCO education was inferior because she had to drop her double enrollment in math, did not receive a wellness credit, and could no continue as a two-season athlete. When Jane’s special education liaison sent her a recommendation for private schools, she was reprimanded by Ramos.
  • In March 2014, Jane was admitted to Anna Jacques Hospital for a week after telling her therapist she felt suicidal.
  • L-S launched the BEACON program in the fall of 2014 for students who had either formerly been outplaced due to depression and anxiety or to avoid such outplacement, but Jane’s parents were told she did not qualify.
  • In the fall of 2014, Jane’s parents enrolled her at Lawrence Academy at their expense. She graduated from that school in 2017.
  • In October 2015, the district told the Roes that its investigation of Jane’s allegations was inconclusive. However, in August 2017 after both boys had graduated, Jane’s mother received another letter from Ramos and South House Housemaster Peter Elenbaas claiming that the 2015 letter had incorrectly reported the school’s findings. “In that August 2017 letter, Lincoln-Sudbury for the first time admitted and acknowledged that its investigation had found ‘that there was sufficient evidence that an interaction of an egregious nature did occur on the evening of November 1st, and that the boys’ conduct substantially violated one of the core values of L-S’.”
  • Lincoln-Sudbury “deliberately failed to accurately report the results of its investigation prior to August of 2017 because the perpetrators remained students at the school and defendants did not want to contend with adverse publicity or parental complaints about the presence of known perpetrators of ‘physical assault and inappropriate sexual behavior’ within the school.”

The lawsuit charges L-S with failure to train and supervise response to sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and discrimination on the basis of gender in violation of Title IX.

While noting that she could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit that had been reported by various media outlets, Wong addressed the issue of sexual assault in two emails to the L-S community on April 27. In the first, she urged any student who had experienced unwanted verbal or physical sexual contact to notify someone at the school.

“The second you disclose to a trusted adult at L-S you will receive immediate attention and support,” Wong said. “You can tell ANY adult in this building and they will know what to do to make sure you get the help that you need.”

In the second email, Wong outlined the school’s measures to prevent sexual assault and support victims, including education around boundaries and consent, peer leaders trained through the Mentors in Violence Prevention program, self-defense classes and security cameras.

When an allegation of sexual assault occurs, “the police are provided the first opportunity to fully interview the affected parties in order to ascertain criminality,” Wong said. “We are able to interview the students more fully once the police have had their opportunity to interview. School discipline can only occur after these interviews are held. At the close of any incident of sexual assault, we also conduct a separate Title IX investigation to ensure that the civil rights of the student involved have been adequately protected.”

“We rely on every member of our community to help each of our students reach their fullest potential and to keep them safe. We cannot stress enough the importance of their learning about how to best maintain their own personal safety, and to reach out when in need of support,” Wong said.

Marijuana forum could precede town votes in the fall

In advance of Wednesday’s public forum, the Marijuana Study Committee has released this FAQ document explaining the ramifications of the state’s 2016 vote to legalize recreational marijuana, the pros and cons of allowing marijuana businesses in Lincoln, and a town decision timeline. The forum takes place on Wednesday, April 25 from 7–9 p.m. in Town Hall.

After Lincoln residents approved the 2016 ballot question, the town imposed a temporary moratorium on cannabis businesses while it decides what to do about the issue. The moratorium expires in November and most likely cannot be renewed. Any town—including Lincoln—whose residents voted in favor of the measure in 2016 must take certain steps if it decides it doesn’t want to allow commercial medical or recreational cannabis cultivation, processing, or sales within its borders.

To enact a partial or full ban, a Town Meeting vote to adopt a zoning bylaw amendment restricting or banning cannabis businesses must pass by a two-thirds majority, followed by a simple majority at a town election. A partial ban could allow only one type of business use, such as cultivation, testing, manufacturing, or retail businesses to the exclusion of others. The town could also opt to do nothing, in which case the state could begin issuing licenses to qualified Lincoln‐based marijuana establishments of any type permitted by state statute. Lincoln voters cannot prohibit personal use or cultivation of marijuana.

Assuming that the June 9 Special Town Meeting on the school and community center projects is not expanded to include the marijuana question, there would be a second town forum in September, followed by a Special Town Meeting and special election in October, according to the committee’s FAQ document.

South Lincoln sidewalk, other improvements on the way

A new sidewalk will appear in coming weeks between the Cambridge Trust Co. building and St. Joseph’s Church.

Now that the weather is finally improving, a new sidewalk will soon be installed across from the Bank of America in South Lincoln, which pedestrians in the area have been requesting for years.

The sidewalk, which was removed during a road construction project eight years years ago and never replaced, is one of the projects funded by a $400,000 Complete Streets grant the town received last fall in an effort spearheaded by Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney and the South Lincoln Planning Implementation Committee (SLPIC).

The package of projects, which Burney said should be completed by September 2018, also includes informational kiosks, safety improvements to the intersection of Route 117 and Lincoln Road, wayfinding signs, and repairs to some sidewalks and roadside paths.

The South Lincoln Revitalization Project includes several SLPIC working teams that are looking at wayfinding, planning and zoning, the Department of Public Works site on Lewis Street, the MBTA station, and the green on the east side of the mall between Donelan’s and Lincoln Woods. The goals are outlined in this presentation made at the State of the Town meeting in November 2017.

The town plans to apply for a second $400,000 Complete Streets grant next fall to fund the following projects, according to Burney:

Correction

 

The articles headlined “Residents drill down on school, community center options before June vote” misstated Andy Payne’s position on the Finance Committee. He is vice chair, not the chairman. Also, the project to research long-term operating costs for a new school is being done jointly by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning Committee, not just the CapComm.

There will be more discussion of this at two meetings on Monday, April 30. There will be a multiboard meeting starting at 6 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room to update the Campus Project Briefing Document and prepare for the June 9 Special Town Meeting, From 7:30–9 p.m. in the same location, the Finance Committee and Capital Planning Committee will host a meeting looking at campus projects costs.

 

 
 

Residents drill down on school, community center options before June vote

This School Building Committee chart compares the six options on features and cost and also shows total estimated campus costs that include the community center. (click to enlarge).

Residents who packed two workshops on April 10 on the campus building projects were asked for feedback on six school concepts and three community center schemes in preparation for votes at a Special Town Meeting on June 9.

At that meeting, voters will be asked to choose from among the three community center ideas and an as-yet-unknown number of school concepts, though it will be at least two. Firm cost estimates for each will be presented, and there will be two votes in the fall to bond the project. To win approval, Town Meeting must approve by a two-thirds majority; a simple majority is required at the polls.

The footprint, features and cost of the school concepts are described in this six-page summary, which also includes an energy performance analysis for all but one of the concepts, and the added cost to bring each concept into compliance with the “stretch” code (a higher level of energy efficiency than the state’s base building code) and net-zero energy use.

The paper version of the six-page concept summary handed out at Tuesday’s meeting also listed the annual tax bill increase for the median Lincoln taxpayers based on a 4 percent of 5 percent bond interest rates:

School conceptEstimated costAnnual tax increase (4% interest)Annual tax increase (4% interest)Added cost for stretch code compliance/net zero energy efficiency, including solar
R
$49 million$1,329$1,494N/A
L1
$73 million$1,980$2,226N/A
L2
$79 million$2,142$2,409$0 / $6 million
L3
$89 million$2,413$2,714$0 / $6 million
C
$95 million$2,576$2,897$0 / $2 million
FPC
$109 millionAnalysis not yet performed for this optionAnalysis not yet performed for this optionAnalysis not yet performed for this option

Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall outlined the educational advantages of each of the six options:

Option R

  • There would be no educational improvement except for a more consistent temperature climate due to the heating system upgrade.

Option L1

  • The new dining commons between the Brooks gym and auditorium lobby could serve as a learning space for large groups.

Option L2

  • Bringing preK into the main school from Hartwell saves time for staff who serve both preK and K-8, as well as preK students who must sometimes cross the campus, and it also eases the integration of preK children into the school as well as faculty collaboration.
  • Two new flexible-use spaces on each side of the school.
  • Having a single, centrally located lower and middle school office and dining commons  also reduces travel time for students and staff.

Option L3

  • Hub spaces for grades 3-8 where classes can open out into larger collaboration or teaching spaces, and which allow more collaboration among teachers. At the new Hanscom Middle School, which includes hubs, “we find teachers are doing much more conscious planning together, and we see the impact of more integrated curricula being developed,” McFall said. For each grade, the hubs also “create a bit of a community within a community,” she added.
  • A larger commons space than previous concepts, and the space looks out onto the woods, which is less distracting for students.

Option C

  • Having two floors in part of the building reduces transition times for middle schoolers by shortening corridors. “The compactness helps with efficiencies and interactions for both faculty and students, as well as greater sustainability,” McFall said. “I feel like it’s a better design for education.”
  • More space for playing fields

Option FPC

  • Allows for the “optimal” educational program, with three more classrooms than the current school (or options L2, L3 and C), as well as hubs for all nine grades and more athletic field space.
  • This option was recently added at the request of residents who wanted to see what an “ideal” building would look like, so the design is still in flux and it may be more compact building with two floors in some places, McFall said.

Almost every elementary school in Massachusetts designs within the past 10 years includes small breakout rooms and/or larger hub spaces between classrooms, McFall said. The U.S Department of Defense’s education arm, which oversees construction of schools on military bases, mandated this type of design for the Hanscom school. “They did a lot of research, and they’re convinced of it—their analysis shows a true benefit,” McFall said.

Having hubs and breakout rooms “is the catalyst to change… an eruptor that makes you think something else is possible,” said resident Jen Holleran. “This is a generational opportunity.”

The Capital Planning Committee is now researching long-term operating costs for the various options, which would include estimating the financial value of making a greater up-front investment in a more sustainable design, Finance Committee chair Andy Payne said. Any savings on current utility costs would not help pay down the bond but would show up in slower growth in the school’s annual operating costs, he said.

Following the presentation, residents were asked to specify their two favorite options to help the School Building Committee gauge how many concepts should be presented for a vote on June 9. In 2012, the SBC offered only one option for an up-or-down vote that failed to garner the required two-thirds majority, “and we will not make the same mistake—we feel like we have to bring that choice to you,” said Selectman and former SBC chair Jennifer Glass.

Community center

Workshop attendees then saw the three latest concepts for a community center located on the Hartwell side of campus and were asked for feedback on paper. (The fourth concept on the Community Center Preliminary Planning and Design Committee website—putting the facility in renovated Smith school space—is no longer being considered.)

All are 23,000 square feet and include renovation of any remaining standalone Hartwell pods. Scheme 3 calls for having the community center linked to all three pods, with a resulting total cost ($13.5 million to $16.5 million) lower than the estimate for the other two options (both $15 million to $18 million).

There will be a multi-board meeting to discuss more details of how to finance the campus projects on Monday, April 30.

School options draw almost 100 comments; workshops next week

The three campus options that residents were asked to comment on via a sheet handed out at Town Meeting (click to enlarge).

The School Building Committee has compiled comments from dozens of residents who turned in a feedback sheet on three possible campus configurations at the March 24 Town Meeting and posted them here in advance of workshops next week. Those sessions on Tuesday, April 10 at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Brooks gym will consider both the school and community center projects.

At Town Meeting, residents also saw drawings depicting the latest community center proposals. Many commenters referenced the six school options (R for repair only, L1, L2, L3, C and FPC or full program concept) in their campus comments.

One-third of respondents preferred option #1 (keeping the L-shaped school), and concern about cost was the most common theme in their comments. Comments by the other two-thirds who preferred campus plan 2 focused on educational quality, maintaining or adding playing fields, and sustainabilty. Several also asked for separate votes on the community center, with the school going first.

A basic repair and renovation project with no educational improvements is slated to cost $49 million. At the other end of the spectrum, an almost entirely new school concentrated on the north side of the ballfield would cost $95–$115 million. A community center on the Hartwell side of campus is estimated at $13–$16 million.

There will be a multiboard meeting on Monday, April 30 at 6 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room with an update on the Campus Projects Briefing Document and planning for the June 9 Special Town Meeting where residents will vote on the projects. Immediately afterwards at 7:30 p.m., the Finance and Capital Planning Committees will host a meeting in the same location to discuss project costs, touching on questions such as what those figures include and the current market conditions affecting building costs.

Residents are always welcome to send their thoughts to the SBC via its website contact page.

LLCT raises $360,000 during campaign

The Bob Davoli Band performs on January 6, 2018. (Photo by Ben Kingston)

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) raised $360,000 from more than 300 donors during a matching campaign organized by Bob Davoli and Eileen McDonagh of Lincoln.

More than 150 LLCT members and friends enjoyed an evening of music and community at a benefit concert hosted by the couple on January 6 at Bemis Hall. LLCT raised $3,855 in ticket sales and $1,200 in raffle tickets, which were rolled up into the larger match.

The largest gift came from an anonymous donor who stepped forward with a check for $100,000. The donating couple had been considering a substantial gift for several years and the opportunity created by the matching campaign became the right moment.

“Many years ago, the conservation land and trails attracted us to Lincoln. Since then, the LLCT and the Rural Land Foundation have provided extensive benefits to us, from recreation, protection of surrounding lands, and a real conservation ethic throughout the community. We decided the least we could do was to return at least some of the benefit that has been provided to us,” the donors said.

LLCT’s trustees and membership base helped raise more than $71,600 during the matching campaign period, bringing the total raised to $176,655. Davoli and McDonagh generously increased their matched amount to bring the total raised to an even $360,000.

“We purchased our land in Lincoln over 25 years ago because Lincoln is a community that clearly shares our deeply held belief in the preservation of open space and in the protection of natural areas. And the LLCT and Rural Land Foundation are the organizations that have successfully secured for over 60 years Lincoln’s open, protected, and rural-feeling, despite Lincoln’s location in the midst of a major metropolitan area. It seemed to us that one way to express our appreciation of Lincoln and to support LLCT’s mission, was to give back,” they said.

The funds raised are already supporting a current acquisition project and are being earmarked for future projects. There are still more than 200 parcels in Lincoln that remain of conservation interest, ranging from less than 1 acre and up to 80 acres.

LLCT is putting some funds toward a Stewardship and Enforcement Defense Fund for protection. LLCT presently holds conservation restrictions and deeds on more than 1,000 acres. Property that the LLCT holds for conservation purposes is a permanent financial liability. Funds are needed to initiate management and later monitor, maintain and manage land.

This spring, LLCT is producing a customized naturalist guide that provides identification of and awareness about the diversity of wildlife and plant species that Lincoln’s natural areas and conservation land supports. The newly raised funds are paying for this new publication that will be distributed to faculty within the Lincoln Public Schools at no cost, as well as to other Lincoln-based schools and local organizations. The Lincoln Cultural Council and Lincoln School Foundation are also helping to fund this project.

Several additional projects are being vetted by the LLCT Board of Trustees that will impact on the organization’s immediate conservation, stewardship, and educational goals.

“We are humbled by the breadth and depth of support demonstrated by Bob and Eileen,” said Meghan Lytton, the board’s chair. “It was a very special moment for all of us at the LLCT to experience the overwhelming support we received from the Lincoln community at the benefit concert. And the success of the matching campaign is an extraordinary endorsement by our membership—the very roots of our organization. As we celebrate this awesome philanthropic success, we remain ever grateful to our many supporters, and grounded in our responsibilities to acquire and protect land of conservation value in Lincoln and to cultivate a conservation ethic among all.”

Poem to the editor: help clear branches from walking trails

You may have noticed the sun’s finally out
And that’s as good a reason as any to shout
Please get out on the trails of our fair city
If you are locked inside, that’s a terrible pity.

And while you are walking the trails with friend or dog
Whether you saunter, speed walk, run or jog,
Please help out your Conservation Department
On the hills and dales and occasional escarpment.

After you’ve managed your own back yard,
Help us with a job that has turned terribly hard—
To clear the trails of limbs and debris,
We need the help of the citizenry.

While walking along, please kick or toss aside
Those small branches we normally can’t abide.
Or perhaps reach down and pick up some wood
(The stretching does most of us good)

And throw it off to the side of the trail
To clear away the residue of last winter’s gale.
We will get the big logs with our hearty crew,
Please have patience—there are more than a few.

Email us please to let us know where they are
And how to get to them by foot or by car.
Do use and enjoy our shared beautiful land
And many thanks for lending a hand.

Send reports of downed trees to Tim Belivieu (beliveaut@lincolntown.org) or Stacy Carter (stacyc@lincolntown.org).

Sincerely,

Peter von Mertens (chair, Conservation Commission)
16 Tower Rd.