By Alice Waugh
The Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC) has gotten a one-month extension on its original deadline of December 31 to finalize their report on options for configuring the Ballfield Road campus.
[Read more…] about Campus report delayed by a month; cost estimates floated
By Alice Waugh
Lincoln school officials learned late last week that they will not be considered for state funding to help pay for a major school project this year.
[Read more…] about State again says no to Lincoln School funding
(Editor’s note: The salutation in this letter originally read “Dear Lincoln.”)
To the editor:
At Saturday’s Town Meeting, the citizens of Lincoln voted overwhelmingly to support both a school renovation project and the School Committee and Board of Selectmen’s joint submission of a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The success of these votes is due to the many, many hours of hard work and tireless public outreach by the members of the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC).
Led by Doug Adams and Superintendent Becky McFall, and comprised of a diverse group of volunteers, the SBAC was so effective in its work because of the transparent process it fostered. The outreach, capably led by our consultants from Dore & Whittier, involved a wide spectrum of citizens. No matter their views of the project as presented in 2012, citizens believed that we as a town must come together to move forward and find a solution to the facility needs of the Lincoln School.
I would like to make special note of the leadership of Dr. McFall, who, as part of the SBAC’s outreach, articulated an educational vision that drew a clear connection between educational theory and the physical environment of the school.
Finally, Saturday’s outcome would not have happened without the input and support that the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and Capital Planning Committee offered the School Committee.
On behalf of the School Committee, I want to express our deep gratitude. The votes on Saturday were a victory for volunteerism, good process, and thoughtful collaboration.
There is much work left to do, and there are many decisions yet to be made. We look forward to your continued engagement as we embark on the next phase of the journey.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Glass
Chair, Lincoln School Committee
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
A diagram of the choices facing Lincoln voters in Town Meeting warrant articles 30, 31 and 32 (click to enlarge).
By Alice Waugh
With a last-minute change to the wording of a Town Meeting motion, town officials are doubling down on their support for seeking state funding for a comprehensive school renovation project in the hope that a large majority of voters feel the same way.
[Read more…] about Town boards come together on revised school warrant article
By Alice Waugh
Town officials have released amended wording for a school project measure at Town Meeting that more closely ties a $750,000 feasibility study with Lincoln’s acceptance into the state funding process.
[Read more…] about Amended motion for school project released
Editor’s note: shorty after this was published, town officials released
By Alice Waugh
Just days before the annual Town Meeting, officials are scrambling to tweak the wording of one of the warrant articles relating to the school building project.
Editor’s note: Town Meeting Warrant Articles 30 and 31 are explained in this letter to the editor by School Committee chair Jennifer Glass.
To the editor:
I am concerned that many residents of Lincoln are unaware that the vote to determine how Lincoln will address the needs of its school building will take place on March 28. If those of us who believe it important to do more for our school building than just fix the most urgently needed repairs don’t show up at Town Meeting and vote “yes” on Articles 30 and 31, those improvements won’t happen.
[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: vote for state-assisted school building project
Editor’s note: This letter has been amended after publication to reflect a correction in the writer’s name. Town Meeting Warrant Articles 30 and 31 are explained in this earlier letter to the editor by School Committee chair Jennifer Glass.
To the editor:
At this Town Meeting, Lincoln’s citizens are challenged to join in constructing a renovated school building so it may engage new educational initiatives. Broad support will strengthen us in many ways, so for us all, an Alpine winter may be displaced by spring action.
I write to engage your collective support so that this spring we will be well served to support the school committee motions to (1) Spend more than $30 million on a school renovation (not repair), and to also (2) to seek to be accepted again by the MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority] to seek state funding support for Lincoln’s school renovation.
[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: vote “yes” on Articles 30 and 31
By Alice Waugh
In the last public information session about the Lincoln School before Town Meeting, officials from severals board and commissions discussed the three different warrant articles that will be presented for a Town Meeting vote on March 28 and at the ballot box on March 30
School Committee chair Jennifer Glass walked everyone through the warrant articles, which she outlined in detail in this letter to the editor in the Lincoln Squirrel. Since the town will almost certainly have to borrow money to finance repairs or renovations, Finance Commission chair Peyton Marshall also commented on the tax and bond-rating implications of various levels of borrowing.
[Read more…] about School warrant articles discussed at multiboard meeting
To the editor:
I write this commentary as a former chair and member of the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC), now disbanded. At the outset, I think it is important to emphasize what the Town Meeting warrant articles (number 30, 32 and 32) relating to the Lincoln School are not about. They are not about picking a particular design option or sum to spend on a school building project. If Town Meeting desires to move forward with a school building project, those decisions will be made at future Town Meetings or Special Town Meetings.
The warrant articles relating to the schools before Town Meeting on March 28 are limited to: (1) whether the town desires to apply for MSBA state funding for a future school building project (warrant article 31), which could cover approximately 30-40 percent of any such project; and (2) whether the town will authorize the funding necessary to undertake the feasibility study necessary for any MSBA project (warrant article 30). If the town does not want to pursue the type of major renovation project which qualifies for MSBA funding, it has the option of voting for a repair-only project and related feasibility study (warrant article 32).
I support Town Meeting passing warrant articles 30 and 31 (and thereby rejecting warrant article 32). I have come to this conclusion based on:
I recognize that a major renovation project, for which Lincoln’s contribution is expected to be at least $30 million, will and should raise questions about the fiscal responsibility of such a project. Some might question whether the School Committee, by being candid about the minimum cost but unable at this time to identify a maximum cost, is seeking a blank check. I am convinced it is not.
At this time, the School Committee cannot responsibly place before Town Meeting a maximum number because no schematic drawings have been done of the conceptual options developed by Dore & Whittier during the SBAC process. (These will be developed during the feasibility study process.) Moreover, since the School Committee will have to come back to future Town Meetings for the approval of a particular design option and its bonding, it knows that it will have to present an option that is fiscally responsible. Finally, since the School Committee will be seeking community input into every phase of the MSBA/feasibility study process, residents will have ample opportunity to make sure the option which ultimately emerges from that process is fiscally responsible and provides value for the money spent.
I do not see a “repair-only” option as responsible from either an educational or fiscal perspective because, in my view, such an approach could be more costly in the long run and, as the November 2013 SBAC report states, leave unresolved “the mid/long term facility needs, as well as educational objectives and priorities of the schools.” In my opinion, this seems neither responsible nor wise. The January 2015 SBAC report did not take a position on this option or any option because SBAC appropriately believed the town should decide the direction it wants to take.
In sum, I think the Town Meeting should be focused like a laser on what it can do to have the town accepted into the MSBA’s 2016 process, since so much more can be done for the school with approximately 30-40 percent in additional funding. In my view, this means passing warrant articles 30 and 31. It also means passing them by large majorities, if that is possible. After the defeat of the old “preferred option” in November 2012, the MSBA suggested to the town that it should seek to develop a consensus on the direction it wants to take for its school. In my opinion, large majority votes in favor of warrant articles 30 and 31 are necessary to send the MSBA the message that after a “ton” of work over the last year and a half through the SBAC process a consensus has emerged in favor of an L-shaped configuration that preserves the special character of this special town.
Although such a vote will not guarantee that Lincoln will be invited into the MSBA’s 2016 process, the town runs a significant risk that it will not be invited into this process if it does not show substantial support for warrant articles 30 and 31. In my view, this is a risk the town should not take.
Sincerely,
Steven P. Perlmutter
Todd Pond Road
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.