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

schools

Letter to the editor: many Minuteman issues to mull

letter

(Editor’s note: the most recent Lincoln Squirrel article about Minuteman can be found here.)

To the editor:

Minuteman High School has become an important topic of discussion here in Lincoln. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, we will have a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to decide if we want to remain in the Minuteman School District. There are many incredibly complex issues to be examined and an informed decision will require much thought, consideration, and understanding from all of us.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: many Minuteman issues to mull

Letter to the editor: PTO thanks its Community Partners

To the editor:

On behalf of the Lincoln PTO, I’d like to extend our deepest thanks to our PTO Community Partners whose contributions have helped make possible our many enrichment activities at the Lincoln School. These activities include visits to the school by poets, dancers, and puppeteers; science, nature and engineering workshops; historical reenactments and more.

In 2015-16, our Community Partners include:

Doherty’s Garage Tricon Sports
Donelan’s Supermarkets Country Pizza
Barrett/Sotheby’s Dr. Ivan Orup
Cambridge Trust Company Fitness Together
AKA Bistro Premier Cleaners & Tailors
Stonegate Gardens Sky Salon
Clark Gallery Something Special
Concord Printing Whistlestop Café
Tim Siok Landscaping Services

Our children’s education is richer because of the help these community partners provide, so I hope you’ll join me in saying thanks for another great year at the Lincoln School!

Sincerely,

Kimberly Bodnar
Lincoln PTO Chair/President

Letter to the editor: regrets over failed school vote in 2012

letter

(Editor’s note: This letter refers to Lincoln not being invited into the state funding pipeline for a school project—see the Lincoln Squirrel, Dec. 21, 2015.)

To the editor:

It is the right season, so maybe we can do a variation of It’s a Wonderful Life in which we went back and saw the errors of our way and voted yes to the original school project proposal a few years ago (well, we did vote yes, but not by a supermajority). We would be just now completing the new Lincoln School project while enjoying state funds to subsidize it as well as reaping the benefits of lower construction costs and minimal interest rates. Also, our hard-working civic volunteers would now be fully focusing on the community center and Minuteman High School projects instead of now revisiting the Lincoln School project.

Unfortunately, I don’t think wings will be coming to our guardian angel anytime soon.

To the responsible groups: yes, please continue the fight for the new school. Our youngest residents need and deserve it! As for me, I will start preparing for the higher taxes that I will most likely have to pay now that the project will be much more expensive.

Sincerely,

Louis Zipes
South Great Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.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.

Key votes on Minuteman slated for Monday night

mm1By Alice Waugh

Selectmen from towns in the Minuteman High School district met last week to endorse a new regional agreement with a few minor changes—including adding language that would allow Lincoln to leave the district along with several other towns without having to pay for the new school project.

[Read more…] about Key votes on Minuteman slated for Monday night

A breakthrough and a hiccup for Minuteman

mm1Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a clarification of Lincoln’s Minuteman spending in 2015-16.

By Alice Waugh

Area officials have hammered out a newly revised Minuteman High School regional agreement by stripping out the contentious “host community” compensation issue and making it the subject of a separate agreement between the town and the Minuteman school district—but both deals must still be approved by the Minuteman School Committee (MSC). [Read more…] about A breakthrough and a hiccup for Minuteman

Heated discussion over Lincoln and Minuteman

mm1By Alice Waugh

Many of the 16 towns in the Minuteman High School district are ready to move forward with a new regional agreement, but Lincoln is standing firm on its demand for compensation as host community to a new high school—a stance that could potentially torpedo a new agreement.

Selectmen from the member towns met on December 2 to try to agree on a deal in principle for amending the agreement that would be acceptable to all 16 towns. The idea, originally proposed by Boxborough Selectman Vince Amoroso, would achieve several things: [Read more…] about Heated discussion over Lincoln and Minuteman

Campus study draft to be presented next week

The current school campus showing when various sections were built.

The Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC) will receive a draft report from its consultants with recommendations for reconfiguring the Lincoln School campus on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room.

Residents heard an interim report at the State of the Town meeting in November from LLB Architects, who outlined some examples of how the building areas, pedestrian walkways, playing fields, and roads on the campus could be configured to accommodate a school project and a new community center somewhere on the Hartwell side. They did not include site work cost estimates for the scenarios.

The CMPC also released results of an informal survey of residents who attended an October 17 public forum. About 160 people responded to seven statements with answers ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” The results of Questions 1 and 5 indicate support for reducing the footprint of the school building, which would most likely mean a two-story structure, although the overall character of the campus is still seen as important.

1. Gaining additional field space is a worthy reason to reduce the overall school footprint.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
52% 20% 25%

2. Locating parking near building entrances and fields is more important than the character of the campus.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
17% 21% 60%

3. Pedestrian walkways should take precedence over vehicular drives and parking lots.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
54% 30% 15%
4. The campus character is tied directly to the current footprint of the buildings.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
38% 25% 31%

5. We should consider reducing the footprint of the school in order to gain building efficiencies, better educational layout, and more space on campus for playing fields and other uses.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
62% 14% 19%

6. The value (functionality, appropriateness, and life expectancy) of the projects should take precedence in decision making if the costs exceed the previously projected costs.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
8% 19% 67%

7. Future projects should aim to reduce the impact on the regulated areas [wetland buffers, riverfront setbacks] to the extent that is practical.

Agreed or
strongly agreed		 Neutral Disagreed or
strongly disagreed
27% 25% 42%

The final report is due to town officials on December 31. The CMPC and its consultant have been working for six months on the project and have presented information at five public forums this fall.

Consultant presents ideas for campus configuration

By Alice Waugh

A Campus Master Planning Committee consultant offered some scenarios for configuring the school campus while affirming that there are no septic or regulatory issues that would prevent putting a community center on the Hartwell side.

Speaking at the November 14 State of the Town Meeting, Greg Smolley of LLB Architects also repeated what he said at an October 17 public forum—that a second Lincoln Road entrance to the campus east of Ballfield Road to accommodate a community center is not needed or advisable.

[Read more…] about Consultant presents ideas for campus configuration