Center School Feasibility Study
UPDATE - December 2010
The full Center School Feasibility Study has been completed. All of the documents (hundreds of pages) are available in the Educate Hopkinton Filing Cabinet at:
https://sites.google.com/site/educatehopkinton/center_school_feasibility_study
Center School Feasibility Study - Hopkinton, MA
June 11, 2010
Executive Summary
This study was commissioned as a result of an SOI [Statement of Interest] submitted by Hopkinton to MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority] for the Center Elementary School. As indicated in the SOI, the Center School is in serious need of renovation and expansion or replacement. This study looks at alternative solutions to accomplish this, through additions and renovations of the Center School, construction of a new school on the Center School site, or construction of a new school at a vacant parcel on Fruit Street purchased by the Town some years ago and master‐planned to accommodate a new elementary school and other municipal facilities.
Hopkinton currently operates 3 elementary schools, Hopkins, Elmwood and Center. These schools are structured so that each serves 2 grades per school district‐wide. The School Committee has adopted a plan to restructure the elementary school system to comprise three K‐5 neighborhood schools, with PK included at one school. The goal of this study is to identify a solution to the Center School problem that accommodates the intended grade re‐structuring.
The structure of this report follows to numbering sequence of MSBA’s Feasibility Study Guidelines (ed. 8‐29‐08). Sections are numbered 1.03 through 1.13. The sequence of cycles completed in the identification and evaluation of alternatives and identification of a preferred solution is illustrated in Sections 1.09, 1.10 , 1.12 and 1.13.
For the sake of completeness, this study looks both at alternatives based on the grades K‐5 school structure and at alternatives based on grades 1‐5 neighborhood schools with a centralized K‐PK Early Childhood Center. However, the School Committee had early on expressed its preference for the K‐5 model and, in the final review of options, considered but declined to endorse alternates based on the 1‐5 model.
In considering options that involve reuse of the Center School or the Center School site, the issues that kept surfacing, in addition to the difficulties inherent in reconfiguring the existing building to meet current educational needs, were the difficulties posed by the site. The site is a small narrow site in the center of Town facing Town common. The small original school building has been increased to several times its original size through successive additions. Site access is limited to narrow passage‐ways on both sides of the building. This makes bus and car access difficult, severely limits parking, severely limits play‐space, and poses conflicts between areas where children walk and play and areas for vehicles so that an unusually high degree of supervision is required to ensure child safety. Congestion on the street caused by the confluence of buses, cars, students and parents at pickup and drop‐off times also causes major disruptions and presents potential safety hazards. Strong concerns over these and other issues have been expressed by Town public safety, planning and building officials.
For these and other reasons, and because the Town has an available developable site that has been designated and master‐planned for a new school, as a conclusion of the process of
identifying and evaluating alternatives, the Building Committee and School Committee have voted in favor of a K‐5 neighborhood school solution that builds a new school at the Fruit Street site and makes the Center School building available for other municipal uses.
The recommended solution also includes, as separate scopes of work that can be included with the new school construction project, modest alterations to the Hopkins and Elmwood Schools to provide spaces that meet MSBA space standards for Kindergartens, as those do not exist now.
[The preceeding is an excerpt from the Center School Feasibility Document 1.00 - Cover Page, Executive Summary and Table of Contents - See full documents at https://sites.google.com/site/educatehopkinton/center_school_feasibility_study]
UPDATE - May 2010
Q. What is the current status of the Center School Feasibility Study?
A. The Hopkinton Elementary School Building Committee, the Hopkinton School Committee, and Owner’s
Project Manager Brian Main are currently working aggressively with Design Partnership of Cambridge and
the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on the Center School Feasibility Study. We hope to
bring a preferred option for the renovation or replacement of the Center School to the MSBA at its July
2010 meeting so we can proceed with the final schematic design for the project.
[The preceeding is is an excerpt from the School Committee FY11 Budget Booklet - http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/newweb2/schoolcommittee/budget/10_11/Budget%20Booklet%20FY%2011.pdf]
UPDATE - May 2009
Q. What is the current status of the Center School Feasibility Study?
A. The Center School Feasibility Study is currently underway but is proceeding at a much slower pace than we
anticipated. Brian Main, the Town’s Director of Facilities, was recently approved by the MSBA as the
Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) through the Feasibility Study, which will result in an overall savings to the
Town of about $25,000. We are currently working with the MSBA to confirm the base enrollment for the
project and are in the beginning stages of developing a Request for Services (RFS) for a designer.
[The preceeding is is an excerpt from the School Committee FY10 Budget Booklet - http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/newweb2/schoolcommittee/budget/09_10/Budget_Booklet_FY10.pdf]
UPDATE - May 2008
Town Meeting - May 7, 2008 - PASSED
This article #48 passed by voice vote (declared 2/3 vote by moderator) on May 7, 2008 on day three of the Annual Town Meeting. (Source http://www.hopkinton.org/gov/clerk/pdf/townmeeting/ATM_05-05-08.pdf)
Town Election - May 19, 2008 - PASSED
This ballot question #2 passed at the May 19, 2008 Town Election. Results 116 Blank, 1650 Yes, 1298 No. (Source: http://www.hopkinton.org/gov/clerk/pdf/townmeeting/E_05-19-08.pdf)]
Center School Feasibility Study - Q & A
(2008 Town Meeting Article 48 / 2008 Ballot Question #2)
The School Committee has submitted an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant and Town Election ballot that seeks approval of funding for a Feasibility Study for Center School. This study is required in order for the Town to receive reimbursement from the State for the school building project. The article is asking for approval of $525,000. A minimum of 40% will be reimbursed by the State. The output of the study will include schematic designs that would be used in the bid process for full design.
*[Note from EducateHopkinton: This question is about a state mandated feasibility study to resolve issues around the viability of Center School and Hopkinton's facility planning efforts.
The amount approved by a 2/3 vote on Article 48 at Annual Town Meeting was $385,000, but at least 40% of that would be reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, bringing actual borrowing to no more than $231,000.
If approved, the funding allows Hopkinton to move forward with applying for state funds for school buildings. If not approved, Hopkinton would be removed from the current list of eligible projects.]
To provide more information on this article, the School Committee has provided answers to several frequently asked questions.
I thought the School Committee had decided a few years ago to decommission Center School. Why are we now doing a Feasibility Study?
Although the School Committee believes it is time to retire Center School, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the State agency that funds the school building program, has not yet reached that conclusion. The MSBA has implemented a new process for funding school building projects. First, a district must identify a problem. Then, rather than having the school district propose the solution, the MSBA works with the school district to determine the best solution to the problem. Our concerns with Center School are with the building itself, traffic and bus loop safety, and the undersized, out-of-date educational spaces. How we address our concerns will be determined through the Feasibility Study.
What are the possible outcomes of the study?
The study will most likely examine four options – to renovate Center School, to expand Center School, to build a new school on the Elmwood School site, or to build a new school on the Town’s Fruit Street property.
What if the decision is to build a new school? Will we be able to?
If the Feasibility Study determines that the best solution is to build a new school, then the MSBA would support us in our efforts to build one. We would still need to apply for reimbursement from the MSBA and we would need to seek funding from the Town for the design and construction of the project.
What if we don’t agree with the outcome of the study?
Our expectation is that the Feasibility Study will be a collaborative process with the MSBA, and that together we can agree on what the best solution is. If we don’t agree with the outcome, and we want to implement a different solution, then we would have to do it without any State funding.
What if the voters don’t approve the Feasibility Study this year? Will we get another chance?
In all likelihood this is our one opportunity for funding from the State. There were 423 requests state-wide for funding of school building projects this year. The Center School project was selected as one of 49 projects by the MSBA for a Feasibility Study. There are many other districts in the State that are seeking funding. It is likely that if we do not approve funding for the Feasibility Study this year, then we will be placed on the bottom of the list.
Isn’t $525,000 expensive for a Feasibility Study?
This study will encompass more than previous feasibility studies that we have done. The study will include a look at projected enrollments, a review of our educational requirements, and in-depth site reviews, including soil testing. The end result will be schematic designs of a renovated or new building that would be used in the design phase of the project. As part of the study, a designer will be hired to work on the site evaluation and schematic designs.
Will we be reimbursed for the Feasibility Study?
Yes, the MSBA will partially reimburse the study. The reimbursement amount will fall somewhere in the range of 40-46%, based on where Hopkinton falls on the MSBA’s reimbursement scale. The MSBA is requiring that we ask for the full amount of the study at Town Meeting, even though we will not pay the full amount.
What happened to the money that was approved several years ago for the new elementary school?
There will be an article on the Special Town Meeting warrant to rescind the authority the School Committee was granted to spend that money. The MSBA wants a fresh start, and wants the Town to approve the new project. Of the $3 million that was approved several years ago, $60,000 was spent before the enrollment projections changed and the new elementary school was put on hold.
How long will it take to complete the Feasibility Study?
The MSBA is estimating that it will take up to 12 months to complete the Feasibility Study. The Town would then have 120 days to approve funding for the Full Design and Construction of the proposed building project. We anticipate that the design and construction would be completed by January of 2012.
Submitted by the School Committee
School Committee Website: http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/newweb2/school_committee.php
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