I encourage my fellow residents to support the debt exclusion vote for a new Lexington High School on Dec. 8.
As a member of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC), I’ve followed the project from the start. I attended most public meetings, participated in focus-group, Permanent Building Committee, and SLC meetings, and listened to many School Building Committee (SBC) meetings. It was a long process.
Throughout, many options were considered: build in place vs. on the fields, renovate vs. build new, include room for Administration or not, expand the field house a lot, a little, or just integrate into the new structure, air-source vs. ground-source heat pumps, all-concrete vs. steel and concrete construction… the list goes on.
The project team and SBC considered every issue thoughtfully and patiently, and ultimately arrived at practical, compromise solutions. For example, the idea of building in place was assessed in great detail (I was a supporter of that approach). In the end, the cost, timeline, level of disruption and quality of the finished product made clear that it was not viable, but the team did a great job limiting how far the new building will extend into the fields.
I promoted the idea of making space to charge electric school buses (we’ll need it some day). It got voted down, but the reasons made sense.
The point is that residents should be confident that all concerns and options—including those that some residents are raising today—have been thoughtfully considered.
The cost of the project is a concern to many. Here, it’s important to remember that the cost is driven by the number of students, the size of a building needed to accommodate them and the current cost per square foot to build a high school. If we wait, it will only be more expensive. Importantly, the Town created a Capital Stabilization Fund to reduce the tax impact on residents. In addition, the design includes enough solar generation and storage to cover the building’s energy needs—reducing the Town’s operating costs for decades to come.
Buildings are complex things. They’re a network of interrelated systems and design elements that work together to produce a structure that operates efficiently, is appropriate for the site, and—most importantly—meets the educational needs of our students. The project team and SBC have designed a building that we will be proud of for years to come.
Thank you so much for your service to the town, and for sharing your thoughts through the process. I think its important for those who have not followed the process all along to know that there have been many, many options considered, discussed, assessed, in community forums as well as hundreds of other meetings. There isnt a better solution. There isnt something that is going to be suggested now that will make the project less expensive. Those ideas (about expanding in different ways and places) have been very thoughtfully considered and found to be inferior for a multitude of reasons. It does seem that there is strong general agreement (and has been for years) that something must be done about the state of the high school. The time is now (well, December 8 for us to take action!).
(And, in the interest of transparency, I will note that I ran the ‘yes’ campaigns for additions to Clarke and Diamond, and building the new Hastings, fire station, and Lexington Children’s Place).