School option L3 wins the day

School option L3 (click to enlarge)

After almost a year of meetings, community forums, architectural work, and spirited debate, Lincoln residents voted to move forward with school concept L3 at a Special Town Meeting on June 9.

Consulting architects SMMA will now produce a schematic design with detailed specifications and an updated cost estimate. The current estimate for Option L3 is $93.9 million, including solar panels and other “net zero” energy use features. A two-thirds majority is required at a Special Town Meeting on December 1 to approve bonding for the project. There will also be a December 3 town-wide ballot that must win a simple majority for the project to advance.

On the first vote, which was conducted using paper ballots and voting machines (a first for a Town Meeting), 632 voters in the Brooks Auditorium and nearby gym weeded down the initial five options to three, with Option L3 gaining a majority already:

Option L3 won a substantial majority in the second round of voting:

• Option L3 – 74%
• Option C – 17%
• Option L2 – 9%

Before turning to the school issue, the Community Center Preliminary Planning and Design Committee presented two possible design ideas for a community center on the Hartwell side of campus and asked residents to complete survey forms on which they preferred. That feedback will be part of the group’s final report to the Board of Selectmen in coming weeks.

The meeting opened with presentations about the five school options and their costs, the tax impacts of borrowing varying amounts, the conditions and repair work needed at the school, and a history of school project planning and construction since 1994, as well as recommendations from the Board of Selectmen, Capital Planning Committee, and Finance Committee (see links below).

The two community center options (click to enlarge)

Over the past year, the School Building Committee looked at 39 different school options before settling on five to present for the June 9 vote. A sixth option was rejected earlier as being beyond the town’s normal borrowing limit.

Much of the discussion before the votes centered on the educational benefits of hub spaces that would allow teachers to work with student of different sizes and more easily collaborate on teaching within a grade, vs. whether such spaces were worth the added cost.

Dozens of residents stood in line at microphones to ask questions and make a case for their choices before the votes. A sampling of those remarks:

• “I’m a huge proponent of Options L3 and C… but L3 is probably a compromise,” said Jen Holleran, member of a Lincoln educators group.
• Option L3 would put Lincoln “in the middle of the pack for residential tax rate,” said Ginger Reiner. “What we are experiencing as a giant leap in taxes is just recalibrating to bring us more in line with our neighbors. We’ve enjoyed lower than average taxes by essentially borrowing against our future selves; we’ve artificially suppressed our taxes and it’s time to pay that debt… Option L3 is the perfect intersection of the town’s values.”
• “Our kids are doing all right,” said Carolyn Montie, noting the top-tier colleges that many Lincoln School graduates have attended. “All options are viable… but putting those resources to direct services to students would result in a better outcome.”
• “Every dollar put into the school made real estate prices rise by $1.50” compared to similar towns that didn’t do a major school project, said Ben Shiller, assistant professor of economics at Brandeis University, citing academic research. “The selfish decision is actually to choose one of the more expensive options.”
• Lincoln’s master plan doesn’t mention an upgraded school but does call for continued investment in affordable housing, open space and conservation, and economic development, said Sharon Antia. “Where will we find the dollars for our stated priorities?”
• Children today “have information at their fingertips—they don’t need to cram it all into their heads” in a traditional classroom setting, said D.J. Mitchell. “We need to [develop] collaborators, tinkerers, and problem solvers. Sometimes this requires larger spaces, multi-age groupings, teachers working across disciplines, quiet reflection and loud collaboration… we need to transform educational spaces for the 21st
  century.”
• “We have a responsibility to honor the historical legacy of the Smith School, which was groundbreaking in its day,” said Christopher Boit. Option L2 “honors our commitment to net zero as well as a full kitchen and [the option of] collaboration at mealtimes… the difference in my education was not the buildings, it was the teachers.”
• The hub spaces in Options L3 and C mean that children taken aside for individual or small-group instruction for any reason “are not stigmatized by being pulled into hallways,” said Cathy Bitter.
• “We’re going to end up taking people out of this community because this is going to impact their taxes a lot,” said Daniela Caride. “In Lincoln, you go anywhere and you see three generations of people living here. [Other area towns] are generally bedroom communities. Do we want to be this kind of community? I’m still looking for an option here. We should be mindful of our neighbors who may get into trouble with all this cost.”
• The tax increase from L2 to either L3 or C “sounds like a pretty good bargain,” said Cheryl Gray.
• The increase between the higher-end options which is in the vicinity of $200-300 annually “is just one less trip to Donelan’s,” said Chris Gill.
• “Some people are concerned that the price is still not optimal for what we’re getting, so I hope do some serious value engineering” between now and December,” said Steve Massaquoi.
• “Given the total dollar amounts we’re talking about, I’m not that concerned” about the relative difference in tax hikes between the top two or three options, said Allen Vander Meulen. “But which of the plans do the teachers prefer?”
• At the most basic level, consistent classroom temperature and lighting are the top priorities for teachers, Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall said in answer to Vander Meulen’s question. But since the new Hanscom Middle School opened, “they’re seeing the collaboration possibilities… the flexible grouping of students and targeted instruction… for either more intervention or more challenges.”
• The presence of hubs in a school “affects our ability to attract good teachers big-time,” said Bob Shudy. Without hubs, many of the best young teachers “wouldn’t even consider” applying to work at the Lincoln School.
• Option L2 “contains the reasonable minimum for facilities and teachers. I find the notion of adding hubs or flex spaces to be speculative,” said Adam Greenberg. “Education is changing much more rapidly than any snapshot you choose to pick today.”
• Saying she hoped to persuade fans of both Option L2 and C to agree on L3, Lis Herbert said that L2’s concept of having only single flex spaces for Smith and Brooks is “deficient and doesn’t rise to the occasion” but that Option C reflects “a uniquely American desire for shiny, efficient new things. We often forget about what we have and what we can adapt to suit our needs… we literally pull up stakes and go west.”
• “A difference of $10 million between L2 and L3 is significant,” said Diana Abrashkin. “There’s so much that could be done with $10 million in terms of teacher salaries, or more amenities in the actual buildings. The difference is the teachers, not the shape of the classrooms.”
• Option L3 has a better distribution of hub spaces, while Option C has “a perfectly good gym moved from present location,” said Graham Atkinson.