REPORT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE

April 2008

This update describes the work of the High School Building Committee (HSBC) during the past year, since the Annual Town Meeting on April 29, 2007. The work of the HSBC, in prior years, is summarized in the Report of the HSBC published in the January 2005 Special Town Meeting Warrant. It and the more extensive Preliminary Design Report are both available on the HSBC web site (www.waylandschoolcommittee.org/whs/hsbc/index.htm) and at the Wayland Public Library.

Over the past year, the HSBC met five times for a total of 52 meetings since January 2004. These most recent meetings focused on the state reimbursement program and community groups’ interest in Wayland High School. More information on the topics highlighted below is available on the HSBC web site and at the Wayland Public Library.

Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) – MSBA regulations define a five-phase process, with guidelines that clearly define the components, their sizes, and their characteristics for which the state will provide reimbursement.. The state and local community will work together at every step of the new process. The five phases are: identify the problem, verify the problem, collaborate on a solution, agree on a solution, and implement the agreed upon solution.

Identify the Problem (Statement of Interest) – The Wayland School Committee and Board of Selectmen submitted a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in August 2006. There were 423 SOIs submitted from 162 districts. The SOI was the first step in the application process for state funding. Communities were asked to document deficiencies under eight statutory criteria: health and safety, existing severe overcrowding, loss of accreditation, prevention of future severe overcrowding, energy conservation and decreased energy costs, short term enrollment growth, replacement of obsolete buildings, and transition from court ordered racial balance districts to walk-to districts. Wayland documented deficiencies in seven of the eight statutory criteria.

Verify the Problem - The MSBA visited Wayland High School three times over the past year.

Enrollment Site Visit and Review - On June 14, 2007 Matthew Donovan, MSBA Outreach Coordinator, and two consultants toured Wayland High School to see firsthand the conditions of overcrowding. They were shown many spaces that have been converted from a previous use, such as a staff dining room converted to a student cafeteria annex, reference centers converted to classrooms, a furnace room converted to a health classroom, and TEC space converted to classrooms. They were also shown many significantly undersized classrooms, science labs, modular science building, auditorium, and locker rooms relative to current MSBA standards.

Facilities and Maintenance Assessment - On June 20, 2007 Joseph Buckley, P.E., Chief Engineer for the MSBA, and ten other architects and engineers came to Wayland to begin a three day study of all five schools as part of the Facilities and Maintenance Assessment. Wayland was one of 18 towns in a pilot program for the assessment.

Senior Site Review - On August 14, 2007 Enrique Zuniga, Director of Quality Assurance for MSBA, Joseph Miele, Senior Architect from STV, and Donald Corrie, Director of Design from STV visited Wayland High School for the Senior Site Review. The MSBA engaged STV to provide an additional, independent analysis of the assessments done by MSBA.

Collaborate on a Solution - The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) at its Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 28, 2007, invited Wayland High School to move forward to the Feasibility Study phase of applying for state funding. Wayland is one of 83 schools invited to proceed with the application process. Of these 83 schools, 49 are invited to work on Feasibility Studies, 27 schools are invited to develop repair plans, and 7 schools are well into detailed design or construction and are invited to work with the MSBA on project scope. The invitation to collaborate on a Feasibility Study is not approval of a project and the MSBA is advising towns to “proceed with caution”.

The MSBA has defined a rolling capital pipeline of $2.5 billion spread over five years. The MSBA will introduce projects into this pipeline as they are deemed ready. In addition to the 83 selected, there are 45 schools on hold, which the MSBA will work with to clarify their Statements of Interest.

On Feb. 13, 2008, five Wayland officials (Superintendent Gary Burton, Business Manager Joy Buhler, Town Administrator Fred Turkington, School Committee Chairman Barb Fletcher, and HSBC Chairman Lea Anderson) met with a team of senior officials from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA laid out the next steps as follows:

1. Submit the Initial Compliance Certification

2. Form a School Building Committee

3. Complete an enrollment questionnaire

4. Complete an enrollment projection working with the MSBA consultant

5. Procure an Owner’s Project Manager subject to approval by the MSBA

6. Procure a Feasibility Designer through the MSBA’s Designer Selection Panel

7. Execute a Feasibility Study Agreement with the MSBA detailing scope, schedule, milestones and cost-sharing parameters of the Feasibility Study.

8. Execute Project Scope and Budget Agreement including schedule, price, and MSBA participation.

9. Conduct a local vote on project

10. Execute Project Funding Agreement

Wayland has completed some of these steps already and is awaiting approval from the MSBA on the HSBC and Designer selection (HMFH Architects). Wayland has been told by the MSBA to plan for 40% reimbursement on the Feasibility Study. Wayland voters approved $300,000 at the 2007 Annual Town Meeting in anticipation of being selected by the MSBA. Those funds have not been spent and are available to begin the Feasibility Study as soon as the state is ready.

Community Groups – The HSBC met with groups interested in privately funding replacement of the floor and bleachers in the Field House, privately funding a new swimming pool, and considering space needs for the WayCam studio in planning the high school project. The HSBC recommends the Field House work, as it complements the larger project. The swimming pool is being pursued as a separate unrelated initiative from the high school project. The HSBC will consider the needs of WayCam in planning with the state.

Next Steps – When Wayland and the MSBA begin working on the Feasibility Study, the HSBC will begin again to engage the community in developing a solution to the facility problems at Wayland High School. The MSBA will define the scope of a reimbursable project by determining the enrollment, the square footage per student, and the allowable cost per square foot.

It is the intention of the HSBC to generate a plan for Wayland High School that will be widely supported by the taxpayers of Wayland. Building on the consensus that something needs to be done to improve the high school facility, the HSBC will work closely with the MSBA to secure state funding and with the taxpayers of Wayland to agree on a project.

Respectfully submitted,

Lea T. Anderson, HSBC Chairman

High School Building Committee Members

Name Telephone E-mail Address

Lea Anderson 508-358-2667 leaanders@comcast.net

Josh Bekenstein 508-358-5651 jbekenstein@baincapital.com

Dianne Bladon 508-358-0068 dehbladon@aol.com

Steve Breit 508-358-7966 sbreit@comcast.net

Brian Chase 508-788-1081 abchase@comcast.net

Jim Howard 508-358-2619 howard.james@comcast.net

Fred Knight 508-358-0834 fred@knightway.org

David Lash 508-358-5294 david.lash@comcast.net

Mary Lentz 617-542-4141 mlentz@mccallalmy.com

Joe Lewin 508-653-9952 joelewin@comcast.net

Cindy Lombardo 508-358-5958 sweetlifer@aol.com

Eric Sheffels 508-358-5461 esheffels@aol.com

Jennifer Steel 508-652-1952 jsteel@FraminghamMA.gov

Karen Talentino 508-358-5961 talentino@comcast.net

Steve Tise 508-358-0047 setarch@aol.com