Minutes of the Steering Committee of the Wayland High School Study Committee 
(HSSC)

Date:  August 12, 2003

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Place:  Wayland High School Library

Present: (committee members) Lea Anderson, Josh Bekenstein, Dianne Bladon, 
Sid Bowen, Joy Buhler (ex officio) , Lori Frieling, Fred Knight, Kim Sklar 
Reichelt, Rich Stack
(visitors) Joyce Lauer, James Howard

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m.

The committee viewed the videotape of Wayland High School, which will be 
broadcast on the Wayland cable channel.

The minutes of the 7/16 meeting were approved.

Subcommittee updates

Structure and Grounds:  Sid Bowen reported that his subcommittee has met four 
times.  He discussed the need for broad exposure of the high school's 
facility shortcomings.  He reminded the group that the $50,000 feasibility 
study 
provided funding for a gross level of planning.  Specificity in the next 
planning 
phase will make the trade-offs more understandable.  Sid presented three 
premises his committee is making: 1. They are not certain about new vs. 
renovation. 
 Future planning needs to consider program needs, phasing costs, and the 
effect on students for the two options.  2. Project size needs debate and 
action.  
3.  Post SBA requires review of financial reality.

Sid said that there is no low cost solution and waiting for SBA to come back 
is not a solution.  The group had a lengthy discussion on options for the next 
step.  One option might be to request funding in the $350k  - $400k range to 
develop two approaches (renovation/new and all new) with a detailed building 
analysis and a decision to pursue one approach when the costs and trade-offs 
are known.  The other option is to recommend a conceptual development of one or 
more options at a cost of $80k - $120k.

Education Program:  Rich Stack reviewed his subcommittee's status on 
assessing the needs for general classroom space, science space, performing 
arts, 
special education, athletics, physical education and wellness, common space and 
extracurricular, technology, library and media.  For each of these topics, his 
committee is looking at educational requirements, the current state of the 
facility, facility requirements, and conclusions.  He will present benchmarks 
of 
major educational program space allocation per student and total space per 
student for Wayland, Weston, Reading, Belmont, Sudbury, and Lexington high 
schools. 
 He will also try to explain the variances in the current space and that 
recommended in the feasibility study. 
 
Enrollment:  Kim Sklar Reichelt reported that her subcommittee is projecting 
a high school enrollment peaking at 1050 by 2007 and lasting until 2010.  The 
enrollment will decline after that.  There is variation in projections in the 
longer term future.  The MAPC predicts a buildout population in Wayland of 
17,000 people that would lead to 1300 to 1400 high schoolers, but there is 
uncertainty as to when that will happen.

Financial:  Josh Bekenstein reported that he had spoken with Bob Lentz 
(chairman of Finance Committee), Bob Hilliard (town finance director), and Paul 
Keating (town accountant).  Josh assured them that the HSSC would not present 
numbers to the town without conferring with them.  Josh also reported that his 
group is gathering data on construction costs in other towns.  The group 
discussed the twenty year debt limit imposed by Massachusetts law and the 
unknown 
likelihood of the legislature relaxing that limit.

Community Relations:  Dianne Bladon reported that her group is focused on the 
tours and community forums coming up on Aug. 26 and Sept. 4.  Flyers are 
being distributed around town and a letter will be sent to community leaders 
informing them of the upcoming events.  There will be no mass mailing.  Dianne 
said 
that the tours will be very well organized.  The purpose of the forums is to 
gather community reaction and to give people a voice.  The group discussed the 
pros and cons of distributing a survey at the forum.

There was a suggestion to hold a tour for staff members from the elementary 
and middle schools.  The group discussed the need for the Community Relations 
subcommittee to continue planning for the work to be done after Sept. 15.

Process for group recommendation:  Lea Anderson presented a timetable for the 
next month.  It was agreed that the subcommittee chairmen would submit a 
written summary of their subcommittee's findings by August 22.  The Steering 
Committee will take the subcommittee findings and input from the forums and 
begin 
to draft recommendations beginning on August 28 and continuing during the week 
of Sept. 8.  A final recommendation is due to the Wayland School Committee by 
Sept. 15.

The next meeting of the HSSC Steering Committee will be held on Thursday, 
Aug. 28.

The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Lea Anderson