Bancroft School Building Project

Update: School Building Committee and School Committee

2010-02-28T15:28:00.006-05:00

The School Building Committee will meet Wednesday, March 3rd at 8:00 am in the School Committee Room (36R Bartlet Street, second floor above the Senior Center). We are slated to vote on a final site option at this meeting. The two site options remaining are Option 1C (in front of the current building) and Option 2C (behind the current building). Option 2C is a phased-construction option, which means that part of the new Bancroft would be built on top of the current footprint. Neither of the remaining options would involve relocating the students during the course of construction.

The School Committee will also meet Wednesday, March 3rd at 7:00 pm in the School Committee Room. The purpose of this meeting will be for the School Committee to reconsider the enrollment composition of the new Bancroft School.

Additional notes on process:

The Traffic Analysis was presented at the SBC meeting on February 24th, but is still in draft form, so is not yet available to be posted online.

The Geo-Environmental Analysis shows there has been no significant release of hazardous materials or release of oil on the site. Radon testing will be done during the Schematic Design phase, so that any potential mitigation systems that are necessary can be worked into the design.

The police and fire departments presented recommendations as follows:
--Bancroft is currently the only school with one access drive to the site.
--There needs to be a separate access to the site, no matter what enrollment number the new school is built for.
--Due to the size of Bancroft Road (16-18 feet wide), a separate access should be constructed either off Holt Road or West Knoll Road; however, the police and fire department recommend West Knoll, due to restrictions created by the intersection of Holt and Stinson Roads.

Additional surveying/staking of West Knoll Road is scheduled to take place, after which the Building Committee will revisit West Knoll to view the area.

Upcoming SBC Meetings

2010-02-01T16:46:00.007-05:00

The next SBC meeting dates and times are as follows:

Wednesday, February 3rd @ 6:30 pm in the School Committee Room, 36R Bartlet Street (second floor above the Senior Center)

Wednesday, February 10th @ 8:00 am in the Selectman's Room, 3rd floor of Town Offices (note: cost estimates of the 5 remaining site options to be presented)

Wednesday, February 17th @ 8:00 am in Town Offices (note: due to this falling during school vacation week, no substantive presentations or deliberations will take place, as several SBC members will not be in attendance. This meeting will therefore be devoted to scheduling issues.)

Wednesday, February 24th @ 6:30 pm in the School Committee Room, 36R Bartlet Street (second floor above the Senior Center) (note: Traffic Consultant will be at this meeting)

Wednesday, March 3rd @ 8:00 am in the Selectman's Room, 3rd floor of Town Offices

As of now, the eight original site options have been reduced to five. The five remaining are: Option 1A, Option 1C, Option 1D, Option 2C, and Option 3. Please note that we asked to see Option 1D modified in order to show it as partially or wholly 3 stories.

Options can be viewed by clicking on the link "SMMA Community Presentations" to the right of this page.

Site Options Now Available on SBC website

2010-01-15T16:24:00.005-05:00

The powerpoint presentation made by the architects at the January 13th SBC meeting is now available online in pdf format. Please note the file is large and takes awhile to download. It can be accessed by clicking on the link called "SMMA Community Presentations" at the right of this page, or by copying and pasting the following link into your browser:

http://www.aps1.net/archives/47/AndoverBancroft_SchoolCommitteeCommunityMeeting_13JAN2010.pdf

Agenda for January 13th SBC Meeting and Draft Traffic Study Scope

2010-01-12T12:02:00.002-05:00

Below, a link to the agenda for the January 13th SBC Meeting, to be held at 6:00 pm in the School Committee Room, 36R Bartlet Street, 2nd floor above the Senior Center. Please note that the traffic consultant will arrive at 7:00 pm, so we will not discuss the traffic study prior to that time. (You will need to copy and paste the link into your browser)

http://www.aps1.net/archives/42/School%20Building%20Committee%201.13.10.pdf

In addition, a draft copy of the scope of the traffic study can be viewed by following the link below:

http://ma-andoverpublicschools.epoweredschools.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1015

Update from January 6th SBC Meeting

2010-01-10T10:29:00.004-05:00

At its January 6th meeting, the School Building Committee discussed the geotechnical analysis that is currently being conducted by McArdle, Gannon Associates as part of the Feasibility Study. The objective of the geotechnical analysis is to explore subsurface conditions within the potential areas of development on the site to provide information on what kind of building foundations, construction slabs, and access route support may be needed in the scope of the building project. The results of this analysis will be available by early February. Please note that the architects said the results of the geotechnical study are unlikely to affect any decision on where the new school should be located on the site or where the access routes should be; they will simply provide information about what kind of foundation will be needed, what kinds of slabs will be necessary for construction purposes, etc.

A geo-environmental analyst will also be on site during this process to assess whether there are any hazardous chemicals present in the soil.

In addition, the team from Symmes, Maini, & McKee presented a draft matrix for the SBC to use in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each of the potential building site and design alternatives (front of existing building, rear of existing building, and current footprint). The matrix is broken down into a number of different evaluation categories, with various considerations listed under each category. This matrix is a draft and SBC members are currently working on proposing revisions to it in conjunction with SMMA.

Finally, SMMA showed some additional draft site concepts for the new school. One concept showed a footprint for the new school being built on top of the existing footprint. The others presented were 3-story versions of the 2-story footprints that were shown at the December 23rd meeting. All draft site concepts will be made available online for the community to review, hopefully by tomorrow (Monday, January 11th). As soon as they are available, I will post that information here.

Update and Upcoming School Building Committee Meetings

2010-01-04T21:30:00.002-05:00

On December 23rd, the School Building Committee met with architects from Symmes, Maini, & McKee, as well as with Todd Brayton, a traffic consultant from Bryant Associates, to discuss the scope of the traffic analysis. Also in attendance were Lieutenant Todd Pomerleau of the Andover Fire Department and Public Safety Officer Charles Edgerly of the Andover Police. With input from the neighbors in attendance we discussed the parameters of the study, which will be designed to study both existing conditions as well as the impact of a student population of up to 700 on current school access roads, potential school access roads (Bancroft, West Knoll and Holt), surrounding roads, and intersections. Included in the data the traffic consultants will collect will be police data, accident data, neighbor’s comments, and interviews of staff (such as the crossing guard).

To date we have received a number of emails related to neighborhood traffic concerns; if you have any further concerns, input or specific information for the traffic analysts, please email the SBC (sbc@aps1.net). The traffic consultant will also be attending the School Building Committee meeting for continued discussion on January 13th (see below).

In addition to discussing the traffic analysis, the architect team from SMMA showed the Committee four draft site concepts for a new Bancroft based upon an enrollment of 620 K-5 students and 80 Pre-K students. These draft site concepts showed how a building footprint might look on the site, along with access, parking, and field/play areas. Two of the site concepts showed the footprint in front of the current school, and two of the concepts showed the footprint behind the current school. These concepts were meant as a step in a process for evaluating potential options, and did not represent specific footprint designs from which we must choose. The Committee asked SMMA to bring options at our next meeting (see below) to show site concepts that could be built on the existing footprint.

Upcoming Meetings:

January 6th @ 8:00 am--3rd Floor Conference Room, Old Town Hall
At this meeting we will review the geotechnical consultant proposal as well as additional site concepts

January 13th @ 6:00 pm--School Committee Room, 36R Barltet Street, second floor above the Senior Center
We have scheduled this evening meeting to accommodate those who find it difficult to attend morning meetings. Todd Bryant, the traffic analyst from Bryant Associates, will be in attendance for further discussion of the traffic study. In addition, there will be ample time for community input on the Feasibility Study.

School Committee Vote on Enrollment Number; Traffic Study

2009-12-20T21:28:00.002-05:00

On Monday, December 14th, the School Committee by a 4-1 vote approved a total enrollment number of 700 for the new Bancroft School. This number reflects 620 K-5 students and 80 Pre-K students. Members voting in the majority felt that educationally, 700 was a number they were comfortable with; in terms of impact to the site, the majority expressed a desire to have the Feasibility Study process determine whether the site and neighborhood can accommodate a building with that number of students.

Going forward, it is important to note the following:

(1) The School Building Committee is now charged with determining what impact a building of 700 students will have on educational design options, on the environment, on traffic patterns, on infrastucture, and on the integrity of the surrounding neighborhood. If the impact is not acceptable, the enrollment number will have to be revisited by the School Committee. Therefore, it is very important that neighbors and abutters continue to engage in the Feasibility Study along with the Building Committee. We encourage you to “push back” at each step of the process so that every potential impact to the neighborhood is fully explored and understood.

(2) The School Committee enrollment decision does not make any of the three potential building locations--in front of the existing school, behind the existing school, and on top of the existing footprint--any more or less likely at this point.

Traffic Study

The firm that is performing our traffic analysis (Bryant Associates, www.bryant-engrs.com) has already begun collecting data; you may have seen some of their wires installed across Bancroft and Holt Roads. However, the Building Committee has not yet voted on the full scope of the traffic study because we are not yet satisfied that it covers everything we would like it to cover. To this end, at our next meeting on Wednesday morning, December 23rd (8:00 am, Selectmen's Room on the third floor of Town Offices), a representative from Bryant Associates will be in attendance so that we can talk through all the idiosyncracies of the various streets in the neighborhood, sight lines, traffic patterns, concerns about vehicle turning radius, seasonal concerns, weekend vs. weekday concerns, etc. It is very important that we feel certain that the scope of the traffic analysis is exhaustive, so we strongly encourage residents to attend to help inform this process. We will have a large map there to refer to. We also plan to schedule at least one additional meeting with Bryant Associates at another time to be determined.

School Committee Meeting Postponed to Monday, December 14th

2009-12-08T17:10:00.002-05:00

The School Committee Meeting originally scheduled for Thursday, December 10th has been postponed to Monday, December 14th at 7:00 pm in the School Committee room, 36R Bartlet Street (second floor above the Senior Center). The agenda will remain the same as noted in the previous post below. Hope you can attend.

School Committee Meeting on Thursday, December 10th

2009-12-06T15:36:00.003-05:00

The next School Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, December 10th beginning at 7:00 pm in the School Committee room (36R Bartlet Street, second floor above the Senior Center). The Bancroft Feasibility Study is scheduled to come up roughly midway through the agenda, around 8:30, but it is almost impossible to project exact times. The meeting agenda can be viewed by copying and pasting this link into your browser:

http://www.aps1.net/Archive.aspx?AMID=36&Type=Recent

It is our goal to vote on an enrollment number for the new Bancroft at this meeting. However, this should not be viewed as a final decision. Whatever enrollment number is voted upon can ultimately be revised pending the results of the ongoing Feasibility Study analysis. So, if the traffic study, geotechnical analysis, site survey, etc show us that the enrollment number we choose will compromise the safety or integrity of the surrounding neighborhood, we will be able to revise the size of the school accordingly.

Options we will consider on Thursday include:

Keeping Bancroft at 500--and alleviating the overcrowding at Shawsheen in other ways, such as through minor redistricting and/or capping enrollment at Shawsheen
Expanding the Bancroft K-5 population to between 600 and 700 students and including the Pre-K at Bancroft as well; closing Shawsheen
Expanding the Bancroft K-5 population to between 600 and 700 students and housing the Pre-K elsewhere (e.g. move it to Sanborn or keep it running at Shawsheen). This would eliminate the K-2 programming at Shawsheen, and potentially eliminate the Pre-K at Shawsheen as well.

We hope to see you at the meeting.

Recap of November 24th School Committee Meeting; Next Meeting this Tuesday, December 1st to be Entirely Devoted to the Bancroft Project

2009-11-29T17:40:00.020-05:00

As noted in the post below, the School Committee spent time under the Communications portion of its agenda on November 24th receiving information from the School Department and Plant & Facilities in response to questions the Committee had. Below is a very general recap of the information we received; we aim to have more detailed data posted, as appropriate, on the school district website shortly.

Meanwhile, follow-up questions will be addressed this Tuesday, December 1st at 7:15 pm in a joint meeting with the School Committee, School Building Committee, and the design team from Symmes, Maini, & McKee. The meeting will be held in the School Committee Room, 36R Bartlet Street, second floor. Please plan to attend.

Cost of Keeping Shawsheen Open Indefinitely: Joe Piantedosi, Director of Plant & Facilities, provided an itemized list of building improvements that would have to be addressed within the next five years in order to keep Shawsheen open as a school. These include accessibility requirements, aging building systems, and code issues (including seismic protection, which is now required). It is important to note that if work is done that costs 30% or more of the full and fair cash value of the property, then the entire building is required to comply with all codes. Therefore, it would be impossible to address just the building systems issues without addressing the code issues as well. Mr. Piantedosi's estimate of the total renovation costs for Shawsheen is $7 million. This includes the cost of relocating students during construction, since construction would not be able to be completed within the course of summer vacation months.
Cost of Keeping Shawsheen Open in the Short-Run while the New Bancroft is Built: Mr. Piantedosi reported that we should be able to avoid most of the long-term improvements and code issues noted above, but some repairs and upgrades would be required, such as flooring upgrades and a new or used emergency generator. The estimated cost of these projects would be $50,000 to $150,000.
General Concept Plan for a Modular-Construction Addition to Sanborn: Mr. Piantedosi provided a general concept plan to illustrate how a new classroom wing could be added to the rear of Sanborn Elementary School. If this addition was used to accommodate the Pre-K program, there would be no impact to the cafeteria or gym space, since Pre-K students do not use those facilities; if it were for K-5 students, however, there would be an impact to the cafeteria and gym which is not addressed in the concept plan. The square footage of this addition would be 10,140 square feet. Construction costs have not yet been researched.
Possible Enrollment Scenarios: Dr. Bach presented some initial enrollment scenarios. The first showed what would happen if Shawsheen were closed today, all of its students were sent back to their home districts, and the pre-K program divided up amongst the remaining five elementary schools. In this scenario, class sizes at West Elementary would be unacceptable (e.g. over 35 in grades 2 and 3). Dr. Bach then presented a scenario which showed what would happen if we closed Shawsheen, moved the whole pre-K to the new Bancroft, and expanded the K-5 population at Bancroft with only limited redistricting; this resulted in a total student population of 722 at Bancroft. Since a more full-scale redistricting would bring the total number of students at Bancroft down, the School Committee has asked Dr. Bach to prepare enrollment scenarios which would show the results of a complete redistricting. We've also asked for scenarios that would show the pre-K at Sanborn, the pre-K at Bancroft, and the pre-K split between the two.
Order of Magnitude Costs: Lorraine Finnegan of SMMA provided rough estimates of the cost differential for building to different student population sizes. These estimates are based on square footage increases only; please note that other factors can influence construction costs as well. In general, going from 500 to 600 students adds approximately $2.2 million to the overall cost; going from 600 to 700 students adds roughly another $3.7 million to the overall cost. These cost differentials vary because once you increase the number of students past a certain point, you must also increase the size of core facilities such as the gym and cafeteria.
MSBA Funding: Recent communication with the MSBA indicates that the state is inclined to pay for the construction costs of Pre-K classroom space if it is located at Bancroft. They would not pay for a corresponding increase in core facility space, because pre-K students do not use the gym and cafeteria. However, like all funding for this site, there is no guarantee of reimbursement until the funding agreement with the MSBA is signed after the schematic design phase.

School Committee Meeting Tuesday, November 24th

2009-11-23T17:09:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update to let people know that the School Committee will spend some time under the Communications portion of its agenda tomorrow night receiving more specific information from the School Department and Plant & Facilities in response to some of the questions the Committee had regarding:

the cost of keeping Shawsheen open indefinitely
the cost of keeping Shawsheen open in the short-run while the new Bancroft is built (after which time Shawsheen would close)
a potential general concept plan for a modular-construction addition to Sanborn Elementary
some possible enrollment scenarios

I will post the information here after the meeting (probably after Thanksgiving!).

Recap of Concerns from November 14th Meeting with Neighbors

2009-11-17T06:54:00.011-05:00

Many thanks to all those who came to the School Building Committee community meeting on Saturday, November 14th at Bancroft. We had a very large turnout, and we are most grateful for the input we received from neighbors and abutters.

Clearly, no matter where the new Bancroft is sited or what its size, there will be impacts on the surrounding neighborhood, traffic patterns, infrastructure, and environment. These impacts are exactly what the Feasibility Study is designed to explore, and we are only at the beginning of that process now. No site location has been identified as a preferred alternative. To date, wetland areas have been identified and a draft survey of the site has been completed.

A note on process: while it is the aim of the School Committee to vote upon an enrollment number for the new Bancroft in early December, we will have an opportunity to amend that number if necessary based upon the results of the traffic analysis or other aspects of the Feasibility Study.

For those who were unable to attend, below is a list of concerns that came up during the neighborhood meeting based on my notes. If I've missed something, feel free to add to the list by posting a comment. Also, please note that neighbor concerns and feedback related to the building site are included in the report that will be sent to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

Concerns related to building the new school behind the existing building:

would require new site infrastructure (roads, electric, sewer)
major loss of green space, woods, wildlife habitat
eliminates walking path used by students, community members
would exacerbate traffic issues at the intersection of Holt Road and Stinson Road
proximity to wetlands/flood zones and the existence of a high water table would impact neighboring properties and pose challenges to building design and future expansion opportunities
would create noise and light pollution in neighborhood with few options to minimize this impact

Concerns related to building the new school in front of the existing building:

current traffic and safety issues would be exacerbated if the enrollment of the school is increased
water drainage problems affect Bancroft Road side as well
illegal parking already an issue when there are special events at Bancroft
traffic analysis must include rainy days and days that follow a significant snowfall, and must take into account the changing seasonal use of the current playing fields

Further Discussion of Enrollment Options on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:00 pm in the School Committee Room (36R Bartlet Street, 2nd floor)

2009-11-15T21:51:00.003-05:00

At its November 10th meeting, the School Committee discussed enrollment options for the new Bancroft School with input from parents and community members. Representatives of the School Building Committee and the design firm of Symmes, Maini & McKee were also in attendance.

During the course of discussion, several issues became more clear:

Any option that expands the Bancroft K-5 population above 500 in order to alleviate the overcrowding at Shawsheen requires a redistricting that would affect other schools.
The possibility of closing Shawsheen entirely by expanding Bancroft and redistricting is an option that can be explored. We will need further information on potential cost savings and the impact on other schools.
If an option involving redistricting is chosen, the decision about exactly how district lines would be re-drawn would not be made until closer to when the new Bancroft opens. However, we would look at possibilities based on current population data to inform our deliberations.
Some or all of the Pre-K program could be moved to Bancroft or to another location in town.

School Committee members indicated a willingness to consider the possibility of expanding Bancroft by some number up to 200 students, as well as a willingness to consider the option of either a complete or incremental closing of Shawsheen. Its next meeting, on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:00 pm, will be entirely devoted to a discussion of these options. The School Building Committee will also be in attendance, as will the design team from Symmes, Maini, & McKee.

We very much want to hear input from the community as we discuss what the ideal enrollment number at Bancroft should be given educational objectives, fiscal realities, and district-wide capacity issues; the possible closure of Shawsheen; and the location of the town-wide Pre-K program. The potential impact of a larger Bancroft on the surrounding neighborhood must be considered as well, and this is what the Feasibility Study is designed to determine.

Please attend, and bring us your questions and input! The meeting will be held in the School Committee room, 36R Bartlet Street. Enter through the Senior Center entrance and take the elevator to the second floor.

Site Location for the New Bancroft School

2009-11-11T16:56:00.008-05:00

With the Bancroft Feasibility Study well underway, I'd like to clarify one aspect of the decision-making process. The decision on the population composition of the new school (maximum student enrollment number and grade configuration) will be made by the School Committee, most likely in early December. The decision on where the new building will be sited on the Bancroft property will be made by the School Building Committee, after the site analysis has been completed by Symmes, Maini, & McKee and after we have heard adequate input from neighbors and abutters.

SMMA is in the process of working on the site analysis now, and while some possibilities have been identified as potential sites, NO option has been prioritized. In fact, the Building Committee has not yet had any formal discussions to date regarding the specific site location.

Going forward, it is very important that we hear your thoughts on where the building should be sited. No one knows the land and the neighborhood better than those who live nearby, so your input is critical. We are holding a meeting for neighbors and abutters this Saturday, November 14th, at 9:00 am at the Bancroft cafetorium, at which time we will walk the site and gather your feedback on what does and doesn't make sense. The architects from SMMA will also be there to listen, to give an update on where we are in the process, and to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to come! Back when the High Plain/Wood Hill Schools were built, neighbors were able to identify reasons why the originally-planned entrance was problematic, and as a result it was moved--so again, we can't emphasize enough that we need to hear your input on the site.

There are certain to be pros and cons to any site option we consider. As these are formally identified through the Feasibility Study process and through information we collect from neighbors, I will post them here.

School Committee Field Trip Follow-Up

2009-11-09T19:47:00.008-05:00

On Friday, November 6th, I travelled with fellow School Committee members Dick Collins, Dennis Forgue, and Deb Silberstein to visit three schools designed by SMMA, the design firm working on the Bancroft Feasibility Study. Joining us were Ihor Raniuk of Andover's Plant & Facilities Department; three members of the SMMA team, including lead architect Alex Pitkin; and parent/PTO representatives Christa DiNapoli (Bancroft) and Laura Gregory (Shawsheen and Bancroft).

It was an energizing day for all of us, and fascinating to see the different ways in which design can interplay with programming to create warm and communal educational settings. Christa DiNapoli has written a great summary of her impressions of the three schools; it can be found in the "comments" section of the November 4th post announcing the field trip (scroll down below). Her reactions to each building closely mirror my own, so rather than repeat her list of "favorite features," I will simply add a few more to what Christa has already noted:

Ditson Elementary School, Billerica

Full-size gym with a PE office, storage room, and bathrooms attached
Glassed-in main office with great visibility; it's the first thing you see when you enter the building
Two large conference rooms for meetings
Each floor has a staff planning room
Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy room

Thoreau Elementary School, Concord

Lots of daylight at the ends of corridors
Visually very appealing from the outside; is nestled within a residential neighborhood
Benches in stairwell landings provide quiet, tucked-away spots
Remarkably quiet cafeteria due to acoustical ceiling design (we saw it when it was full of kids having lunch)
Classroom heating via radiant panels in the ceiling--this frees up counter space where heating vents are often located

Argenziano Elementary School at Lincoln Park, Somerville

Special Kindergarten/First Grade playground tucked into a U-shaped courtyard
Separate area within each Kindergarten classroom for student lockers
Hallway display cases of student and class projects
Glass sidelights and transom windows around classroom doorways so that you can easily see inside/outside

Population Composition Options to be Discussed at November 10th School Committee Meeting

2009-11-04T16:43:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, November 10th, the School Committee will dedicate time early in the agenda to discuss possible population options for the new Bancroft School. We would like to take the "no idea is a bad idea" approach, and brainstorm various options that would address our space needs both district-wide and long-term. Population composition options that were suggested at the Building Committee meeting this morning include:

Current Bancroft population only
Current Bancroft plus all pre-K programming
Current Bancroft plus some of the pre-K programming
Current Bancroft plus up to 200 additional students to be included via redistricting
Current Bancroft plus all pre-K plus 100 additional students to be included via redistricting

These are just some of the options we will put on the list for consideration. If you have others, please come to the meeting on November 10th and share them with us! Or, feel free to add your ideas or comment on those listed here by posting a comment on this blog. I will continue to add options to the list as ideas come in.

School Committee & School Building Committee Field Trip

2009-11-04T16:11:00.001-05:00

On Friday, November 6th, members of the School Committee and School Building Committee will be taking a "field trip" to visit a variety of elementary schools representing different approaches to designing for size, population composition, and site constraints. Our school tours have been arranged by the design leadership team from Symmes, Maini & McKee, and will include the following stops:

Ditson Elementary School, Billerica--800 students

Thoreau Elementary School, Concord--520 students

Albert F. Argenziano Elementary School at Lincoln Park, Somerville--481 students

Salisbury Elementary School, Salisbury--800 students

We specifically asked to see schools during the day when students were in them so that we can see what different size, space, and population configurations "feel" like. Update to follow after the field trip...