A Timely Article in the Boston Globe

New Hanover school set to finish under budget

New Hanover school set to finish under budget

By Michele Morgan Bolton Globe Correspondent / March 27, 2011

HANOVER — It’s been a long time coming, but the new, 156,000-square-foot Hanover High School building on Cedar Street is on track to open its doors in September, $11 million under budget, officials say.

The $50 million building, to be surrounded by a new field and athletic facilities, is being touted as an environmentally friendly, flexible learning center with 48 “teaching stations,’’ or classrooms, that can be expanded or contracted to adjust to educational needs, as well as common areas large enough to host community meetings from time to time.

It will hold 800 students, according to specifications, substantially more than the 600-plus now enrolled in the existing building on the same parcel, officials said.

“This building is going to be fantastic,’’ said Chris Martin, chairman of the building committee. “There are a million things I like about it. And 11 of us have worked so long on it, it’s our baby.’’

The new school is coming in $11 million under the amount originally appropriated before the economy tanked, Martin and others said, because of bids that came in 17 percent less than expected and lower interest rates.

He said it’s a poignant time for supporters who have championed construction of the new school for a decade and weathered a series of political, legal and malicious storms to see it through.

Residents first tried to jump-start a renovation project in the late 1970s for the dated, 1958 building but had no luck, Martin said. Then, the initial property tax-limit override vote to pay for a new building failed in 2001 by just 18 votes, he said.

A new wave of voters agreed to build a new school in 2007, but then a protracted legal challenge raised by union carpenters stalled construction. The court battle included allegations that general contractor Callahan Inc. was illegally selected for the job, the costs of which are being reimbursed at a rate of nearly 50 percent by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

In court papers, the plaintiffs contended that Callahan secured the contract based on misleading information in its prequalification documents that claimed construction of Andover High School as its previous school building experience. The town countered that the company was involved at the very end of that project.

The disagreement delayed construction by about five months and cost the town $400,000, said Selectman Dan Pallotta. But the case was eventually decided in the town’s favor, after making its way up to the state Supreme Judicial Court.

More recently, as workers toiled through the winter on the project, a trio of underage vandals broke into the new building in late February and went on a two-day rampage, which included pouring concrete adhesives down toilets, according to police.

Walls throughout the school were spray painted with graffiti, tools and boxes were tipped over, locks were ripped off doors, and uninstalled windows smashed, said Martin and Pallotta, who have worked closely together on the project.

All damage was eventually covered by Callahan’s insurance policy, they said.

“But that broke my heart,’’ Martin said. It’s been a long road, but both he and Pallotta said all eyes are trained on the finish line now as Callahan presses to deliver the finished building to the town by June 1.

From that point, school officials would have three months to fit the building with the latest technology, furnishings, treatments, and day-to-day essentials, before students arrive for the start of school in the fall.

“The new school is beyond state-of-the-art,’’ said Pallotta. “It will be the nicest school on the South Shore.’’

Key to the new design is an open cafeteria/commons space that will be the hub of the school, Martin said. German-designed shades schoolwide will allow the sunlight in, aiding energy efficiency, while also shielding students’ eyes from glare.

Climate control will be much better, he said, than in the existing building, where students often have to wear their jackets in class to keep warm, or boil in hot weather.

The new school has been designed to support eight pod areas, each with six teaching stations that can be reconfigured as needed. Spaces are designed with a sense of community, whether it’s a gathering of students during school, or the community after hours, officials said. There is wireless computer access throughout the building that can be shut on and off at will, Martin said.

There are also 55 security cameras, he said, which are a concession to the times.

Once the town takes ownership of the new school, it will have two days to remove any items it wants from the old building before Callahan begins demolition.

School and town officials are organizing a scholarship fund-raiser, in conjunction with Hanover Day, to auction off items saved from the school.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We can’t thank you enough for your hard work in getting the school building design funds passed through Town Meeting and Town Election. YOUR enthusiasm, YOUR advocacy, YOUR dedication, YOUR phone calls, YOUR sign-holding.

YOUR votes.

We admit we were really nervous as we walked into the Duxbury Middle School gym yesterday evening to await the vote tallys. It could go either way, we thought. And it really could have had it not been for YOU. DuxburyCARES is YOU.

The final counts looked like this:


           Precinct 1    Precinct 2    Precinct 3    Precinct 4    Precinct 5    Precinct 6    Totals
YES        365              487             480              361              335             257           2285
NO         276              389             218              205              214             190           1492



So what’s next?

First of all, we hope you will take a bit of a breather. You deserve it.

The School Building Committee will go forward with their work with the MSBA and potential designers. When designer interviews and presentations are scheduled, we’ll post information about those meetings here and on the Facebook page. We’ll keep you informed as the process moves forward.

We’d like to keep up some visibility of the organization through the summer months, perhaps hosting a fundraiser for the funds we’ll need to advertise and promote the project again in advance of  the special town meeting and election that will be required to secure the construction funds. If you have some ideas for that, please let us know.

Thank you again, to each and every one of you. Thank you for recognizing our school facilities need to be addressed now and that a new co-located middle school and high school is the best, most cost-effective, most efficient long-term way to address the need for the children and the community as a whole.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A Message About Technology in Education

Late this afternoon we received this email from Rhoda Au, local parent. She has given us permission to post it here.
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Hi All:

I am at a BU internal conference in which various faculty are talking about their innovative teaching techniques.  And I wish the community of Duxbury could see how technology is being integrated into instruction - right now.  The use of tablets for instruction along with on-line tools - and the use of tablets and these on-line tools by students to learn is happening on college campuses.  The advantages that these technical tools provide that enhances interactive, personalized learning is incredibly significant.

It is too bad that you could have invited one of these professors to one of the information meetings, just so they can demonstrate.  At the main campus and the medical campus, professors are using it to make their teaching connect with their students much more effectively.  It is a matter of time (and not very much) before these teaching tools reach the primary and secondary school levels. 

What some in the community might identify as "bells and whistles" - they are not understanding this is not about "nice to have", this is about essential changes to the learning environment to allow our teaching force to adequately prepare our students for what is already headed their way.  And for our students to be able to arm themselves with the tools they will need.

I am not a techno-geek.  Just ask my kids.  We are one of the most unwired homes with kids in Duxbury.  And yet as I sit here listening to these presentations, I think - I need to buy my kids a tablet.  They are going to need one.  They need to master these learning applications before they get to college.  The tablet is not a toy - it's the paper notepad and pen in one.  They will need to take notes with it, they will need to receive information from their teachers with it, and they will need to study using it.  Forget getting them ready for the workforce, this is about getting them ready for college.

A Letter from Mary Lou Buell

School Committee member and building project supporter Mary Lou Buell sent this letter to her email list. Thank you, Mary Lou, for your ongoing support of the schools and for allowing us to print this letter.

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Hi All!

Just because you’re not seeing yard signs that say “No New Taxes” doesn’t mean Question #3 is in the bag...in fact, several of you might be among those who believe it’s ok to put off the school building project.  Well, it’s not.  Our schools are in very bad shape and whether it’s a patch job or a job done right, something needs to be done immediately....and that will cost us a significant amount of money.

Some think renovating what we have is a more fiscally responsible route. Let me call your attention to Falmouth High School.  As you probably remember, my Dad lives there, so I got to hear first hand of the cons of renovating.  Once they started they realized there were more problems than they anticipated.  The original $67 million project ran over and they had to stop construction and wait for the town to approve another $19 million.  In all it took 5 years to finish and for 5 years the students attended classes in trailers.  That means an entire class of students entered the high school as freshmen in trailers and graduated 4 years later still in trailers!  Is this what we want for Duxbury?

Some think that new buildings are extravagant, and fulfill “wants” rather than “needs.”  The plan, supported not only by School Committee but also the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Fiscal Advisory Committee and Town Building Committee, calls for the use of a “model school” plan.  In the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Model School Program, schools re-use designs from existing school buildings that have proven to not only provide optimal classroom spaces and efficiency, but also have a track record of longevity and low maintenance.   This very sensible approach also shortens the design phase of the project and saves millions of dollars. 

A new co-located middle school and high school is the only plan that will get Duxbury the schools they need not just for the present, but for the future…and really, if we are going to spend millions of dollars one way or another, it makes sense to get what our students need educationally when all is said and done.  21^st century pedagogy is in flux and we need flexible educational spaces that can adapt not only to current practices, but those that will become commonplace in the decades ahead.  Don’t forget new construction is turn-key.  That means every desk, chair, filing cabinet, whiteboard, projector, computer, printer and bookshelf is included.  This would not be the case with a renovation project and in fact, Falmouth High School was scrambling for the funds to furnish their building once it was near completion. 

Not only am I imploring you to vote YES on Question #3 on SATURDAY, I also hope that you feel positively about this investment.  Many of you like me, have a child or children, like my Patrick, who will not directly benefit from this project.  Remember, it was others who long ago paid for the construction of the current middle and high school buildings.  And for those of you with little ones like my Veronica, Nora and Agnes….can you even imagine how much worse it will be for them if we don’t act now?!  

Please read all of the letters people have taken the time to write http://www.eduxbury.com/opinion/letters.html , view the school building committee’s presentation on the school website http://www.duxbury.k12.ma.us/buildingproject.html and see the links I’ve included above.

Thank you and I will see you at the polls—Saturday, March 26^th (aka TOMORROW), DMS 8am-8pm. 

Yes!

Mary Lou

Another Leaky Classroom at Duxbury Middle School

Yesterday afternoon, March 23, 2011, at Duxbury Middle School, a special education classroom had to be evacuated due to severe leaks. This is the first time this classroom has leaked. Complicating an already bad situation, it's MCAS week. Administrators had to scramble to find a suitable space for students to take MCAS tests for the rest of the week.

The time is NOW! YES for SCHOOLS! YES on Ballot Question 3! VOTE SATURDAY!

Talking Points for the Homestretch

As you talk with friends and neighbors in these final days before the Town Election, you may be wondering what, exactly, to say. While the school project is complex and the reasons for passing ballot question 3 are numerous, we have compiled these very brief talking points.

Please note that additional, more complete information and/or links on all these points are available via Facebook notes, the posts and tabs on this website, and the Duxbury Public Schools website.

• There are many tax relief programs available in town, including one where seniors can do community service work for a tax abatement. Town hall has more information.
• If Question 3 passes, tax impact won't be felt until 2014 or 2015.
• New school facilities will improve our property values making it easier for homeowners to sell. (Shorter time on the market and better price).
• Deteriorating schools make it hard to attract new home buyers.
• Deteriorating schools make it hard to attract and retain teachers.
• Taxpayers in Duxbury finished up paying for the current high school in the mid 1980s therefore many families have never had to pay for the buildings in which their kids attend middle and high school. It is our turn. It is good to leave a place as good or better than how we found it.
• If we choose renovation, that will mean many years in trailers for middle and high school students. Our students deserve better. Parts of the curriculum cannot be adequately taught in current buildings -- much less portable classrooms.
• The buildings are in such poor condition, there is no "Free" option! There will be a tax impact no matter what! Buildings were poorly constructed to begin with so it is less expensive to rebuild than repair.
• State reimbursement has trended downward so if we wait, we are not likely to get this level of reimbursement. Hanover and Plymouth have experienced this lower reimbursement after failing to approve projects -- which means a higher cost for taxpayers in those towns.
• Today's students will work and compete in a very different environment than we did even one or two generations ago. Being tech savvy isn't a luxury but is required in college and the workplace. Many of our neighbors on the South Shore are surpassing us. Our outdated structures are hindering our teachers and students! (Physically uncomfortable: too hot, too cold, leaks, noisy heaters, too small classrooms and poor ventilation. Directly related to curriculum: very poor school layout hinders team teaching, inadequate electrical hinders science and other course work, limited access to technology).There are young families and seniors alike who are struggling to pay bills and paying higher taxes are scary. We don't have a commercial tax base in Duxbury so the burden falls on us all. The school department, school building committee and the MSBA are doing their best to give us the most reasonable, cost-effective fix for our school buildings. FinCom, Fiscal Advisory, Town Building Committee, Selectmen and School Committee all voted to support the co-located model.

Thanks to everyone who has worked to spread the word and support the schools. As always, if you have questions, please contact us at DuxburyCARES@gmail.com.

WE CAN DO THIS! YES for SCHOOLS! YES on 3!

What Would Happen Next?

While we have -- necessarily -- been focusing all our energies on getting the monies for schematic design approved at Town Meeting and Town Election, some have wondered what comes next. Provided Ballot Question 3 is approved on Saturday, March 26, what would happen?

IF question 3 passes at the ballot box, model school designers would present to the School Building Committee in open meetings. Presentations might take the form of this video prepared for the proposed East Bridgewater 7-12 school. Note that this presentation is based on Whitman-Hanson, the design of which is part of the MSBA's Model School Program.



It's very exciting to see visualizations like this. However, we won't have the chance to start really visualizing the future of Duxbury education unless we get the vote out for Saturday.

WE CANNOT TAKE THE MARCH 26 VOTE FOR GRANTED! It is up to every single one of us to get the vote out, to make sure that this passes, and that safe, modern, and accredited schools are built for our children and generations of Duxbury children to come.

• Vote in person on Saturday, March 26, 8AM-8PM.
• Vote absentee at the Town Clerk's office, T, W, TH, 8AM-4PM, F, 8AM-12PM.

Comparisons to Building Projects in Other Towns

It’s natural, when looking at a building project of the scope facing Duxbury, to make comparisons to surrounding towns. While not every other school building project in Massachusetts is an appropriate comparison, there likely are things we can learn from each situation.

Plymouth

In 2003, voters in Plymouth voted down a school building project for Plymouth North High School. At the time, the new school was estimated to have cost about $60million, and Plymouth was in line for about 70% reimbursement. When the project was voted down, the money that had been earmarked for PNHS went elsewhere…and Silver Lake High School was built.

Meanwhile, conditions at PNHS continued to deteriorate, and accreditation was at risk. By 2007, rebuilding Plymouth North High School was the town’s priority. Voters approved a $199million override to rebuild Plymouth North, expand Plymouth South and build a Senior Center. (http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x1839605996)

Construction on Plymouth North began in November 2009. The estimated cost of the project is $80million, with a reimbursement rate of 58.24%. What would have cost taxpayers about $18million (after reimbursement) in 2003 is now costing them (after reimbursement) about $33million.

Cost of waiting to taxpayers: $15million.

Hanover

In October, 2001, Hanover residents voted down funding for a feasibility study for a rebuild of Hanover High School -- by 18 votes. At the time, construction was estimated to cost about $31million, with the state reimbursing for about half of that. The cost to taxpayers would have been $15-16million. (Boston Globe archives)

When funding for a new Hanover High School was finally approved, the estimated cost was up to $50million with a reimbursement rate of 48.21% (HPS website). The total cost of the project increased by $18million -- and the cost to taxpayers was up over $8million.

Cost of waiting to taxpayers: $8million

Norwood

“In May 2008, when the Town of Norwood entered into discussions with the MSBA about building a new high school, the proposed cost for the 203,000 square foot project was over $100 million. In January 2009, MSBA’s Board of Directors approved a new 227,000 square foot school with a total budget of $73.9 million.

This approximate $30 million in savings is a direct result of Norwood’s participation in the MSBA’s Model School Program. Rather than reinventing the wheel for each new school, the Model School Program reduces project costs and completion time by adapting proven elements from recently completed schools and tailoring them to local needs to ensure cost-efficient, easy-to-maintain designs. Thanks to this innovative and sensible program, construction in Norwood got underway in May 2009, instead of November 2009.” (http://www.massschoolbuildings.org/programs/model_school)

Savings to taxpayers by using Model School Program: $30million

Norton

In several instances, folks in town have used the example of Norton in an effort to declare that saying no to the building project now means the SBC would come back with a cheaper option in short order. Comparing Duxbury to Norton, however, is not really appropriate.

While it is true that the current Norton project is less costly and of smaller scope than the initial proposal, it helps to understand it in full context.

1. When the Norton proposal was first brought forward for an override vote, the plan had yet to be presented to the MSBA. It had not received approval of any kind from the MSBA, from a mere agreement of the scope of the project to commitments for funding levels. It not been vetted by MSBA engineers. It was an incomplete proposal in that sense.
   
   THE DUXBURY DIFFERENCE: The school master facilities plan of 2000 identified the need for addressing the conditions of Duxbury Middle School and High School within 10 years. In 2009, Duxbury voters approved a feasibility study to evaluate the complete condition of the middle school and high school. That document, along with repeated submissions of Statements of Interest to the MSBA resulted in the an MSBA visiting Duxbury to see conditions for themselves. They concurred with the conclusions of the feasibility study and invited Duxbury into the program. Our project is MSBA approved.
   
2. The first Norton proposal was for a high school to accommodate about 1000 students. However, Norton High School has only about 760 students. When the MSBA did look at that first plan, they disagreed with the scope of the project. The MSBA told Norton that their enrollment was stagnant if not declining, and that there was no justification for the school to be so large. The current proposal is more appropriate to projected enrollments: it is smaller in scope and adds only a small science wing -- and it is only now going before the MSBA for full approval. Part of the reason the Norton proposal was voted down -- and why a subsequent proposal is coming in for less money -- is that it was too big to begin with.
   
   THE DUXBURY DIFFERENCE: Duxbury worked with the MSBA to determine the appropriate size and scope for the current schools project. A comprehensive study of population trends by the MSBA coupled with a complex formula for enrollment projections confirms that we are building the right size building to accommodate Duxbury children for decades to come.
   
   Note also that in this new plan, Norton is getting all new science facilities. If the current Duxbury proposal were voted down, and the SBC were to try to move on a renovation option, our science classrooms would still be undersized and inefficient.
   
3. The current Norton proposal will be reimbursed at 55-60%. Norton has a different demographics. While all cities and towns in Massachusetts start with a 31% base reimbursement rate, percentage points are added on based on a variety of criteria. Because it is a relatively wealthy town, Duxbury’s community wealth factor is lower than Norton’s (which is double-digits). We will never get to the 55-60% reimbursement rate; maximizing every reimbursement point available to us takes us to the current commitment of 43.42%, including significant cost savings in using the Model School Program.
   
   THE DUXBURY DIFFERENCE: The School Building Committee, comprised of engineering, architectural, building and educational experts, has been working extremely hard on this project for years. Using vetted information from professional, reliable experts and sources, the SBC has put in hundreds of volunteer hours in an effort to evaluate and present the best long-term, cost-effective option for current and future generations of Duxbury children. They did not take the first option presented to them; they asked the firm that completed the feasibility study for more options, so that they could make the best possible proposal to the entire community.

The SBC has done its due diligence to be sure the proposal presented to the town for a new co-located middle school and high school is the most cost effective, efficient, educationally appropriate option for our children and our community. It is up to us to see this project through.

The time is now. Yes for schools. Yes on ballot question 3.

Voting Absentee

Town Election is ONLY a week away! Getting out the vote for the election is critical! We cannot take any vote for granted. We cannot assume this will pass the ballot box. There is an active opposition to this effort. YOU must vote in the March 26 election for this measure to go forward. 

Will you be away for the weekend? Will you be working? Will you be at a sports tournament all day in another town? Make arrangements TODAY to vote absentee! 

In addition, do you have friends that you know who will be away? Are there other local parents who will be at that sports tournament? Do you work with other town residents? Reach out to them to ask that they make sure they vote, too. You can even print out extra absentee ballot request forms to help them along.

The state allows for absentee voting if you will be away from town on the day of the voting. First, download the following form from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website:

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee_ballot.pdf

Fill out the form in its entirety. Then you have several options:

• Mail the form to the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk can then mail you the ballot. Please note: One week to the election is not a lot of time! Make sure you return the ballot promptly, with sufficient postage!
• Take form into the Town Clerk's office yourself. You will be able to complete your absentee ballot right then and there.
• Have a family member take the form into the Town Clerk's office for you. The family member can pick up the ballot for you. Once you have completed the ballot, mail it back, or have your family member return it.

In any case, the absentee ballot MUST be back in the hands of the Town Clerk no later than 12NOON on Friday March 25!

Town Clerk's office

Town Hall

878 Tremont Street

781-934-1100; EXT. 150

Hours

Monday: 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.

Tuesday – Thursday: 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Friday: 8:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

Call if coming between noon and 1:00pm.

Additional information about voting absentee in Massachusetts is here:

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howabs.htm

You can also call the Town Clerk, Nancy Oates, with any questions.

Motions for Reconsideration, or a Crash Course in Parliamentary Procedure

Town of Duxbury bylaws allow for a “motion for reconsideration” of any article at Town Meeting. It appears that the original intent of such motions to reconsider an article if new, previously unknown information about the article comes to light during the course of the meeting; in Duxbury, the motion has been used in the past to basically “undo” the will of the people on controversial issues. We will try to use it to our advantage to eliminate that “undo” possibility.

Reconsideration is confusing. We have tried to clarify as best we can here.

What it means for the school building project

This provision means that supporters of the school building project need to be at the continuation of Town Meeting on Monday night. Be in your seats at 7PM sharp!  Allow yourselves sufficient time to park and check in; you need to check in anew and get a new slip of paper for handcounts.

Someone will enter a motion to reconsider article 18. You must be there until it comes up.

From this point forward, LISTEN TO THE  MODERATOR. He will step us through the motion. He will tell us what each vote means, and how many need to vote either way. We want to vote down the motion, we do not want to reconsider.

Contingencies, as we understand them right now:

1. If 2/3 of the audience votes Yes to reconsider Article 18, discussion on the article opens again, and another vote will be taken. Another 2/3 vote is needed to approve the article to get it on the March 26 ballot.
2. If 2/3 of the audience votes No (which we NEED to have happen!), the motion to reconsider dies.
3. A motion to reconsider Article 18 can ONLY be brought up on Monday and it can only be brought up once.
4. If you are not there and ready at 7PM, the opposition could bring this up. See #1.

ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT NOTE

We recognize the challenge it is for many of you to get to Town Meeting at all. You have families and commitments, and 7PM on a Monday night is a terrible time for the little ones. It's to our advantage that we've just had the time change -- your kids might not be quite adjusted to the change yet; to them it will still feel like 6PM!

BUT!

Please DO NOT VOTE and RUN! While it is your right to participate in democracy in any way you choose, this appears extremely disrespectful to the process. We’ve been able to bring many empty-nesters over to the school’s side, and we don’t want to lose them. An immediate mass-exodus could lose some of those critical votes that we will need at the ballot box on March 26. (There are already some vowing to make sure the school design funds question is defeated on March 26.)

There are some important articles due to be presented on Monday evening. The CPC articles are always interesting from an historic as well as political perspective. The supporters of those articles were there through the schools article and it would be a show of respect for their causes to listen to their articles.

So what to do? We recommend you and your spouse bring two cars.  Bring the kids. When the kids absolutely have had enough (and Article 18 really is settled), one of you can take the kids home and the other can stay for a while. THEY LISTENED TO US, LET’S LISTEN TO THEM.

Thank you so much to all of you for your support and action. Let's not let our guard down now! WE CAN DO THIS!

Another Letter That Didn't Make it Into the Clipper

There were nine pages of letters in the Duxbury Clipper on Wednesday -- and even then, some didn't make the cut.  Here is one, written by Scott and Eleanor Mackay.

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Dear Editor,

My wife is an architect and I have been a builder for almost thirty years. We have attended school building committee meetings, as well as public safety building meetings. Our town owes thanks to the citizens on these committees, a hardworking, smart, informed and involved group.

The decision to build or renovate the middle and high schools has become a highly charged issue. The mention of the total cost sends chills into everyone’s personal budgets: an average of $750.00 per year for 25 years for the schools alone (or about $14.00 a week). We tend personally to favor renovating as a rule because it feels betters, less wasteful but in this case, we have come to a different conclusion.

We walked through the middle and high school with the facilities director over Christmas break. He laid out for us the problems he faces daily to keep the schools up and running. It was an eye opener.

The whole school seemed quite warm for being empty. He explained that it was necessary to prevent heating system pipes from freezing. The school was built with an electric system back when the nuclear plant was ready to open and future electricity was supposed to cost us just pennies.  Every wall heater was later retrofitted with hot water pipes to a boiler system -- too close to outside uninsulated walls. Freeze ups in the past have created serious damage. The facilities director went on to show us outdated systems from HVAC controls to electrical to phone to PA systems.  The windows are all failing as is the roof and lab areas. 

When you gut out all these problems, you end up with a shell of brick. So what are we preserving by renovating - an architectural gem? No. Perhaps a well laid out building? Sorry, no again. In fact the layout is a real problem, lacking in storage and flexibility required for current teaching models.

If you have sent your kids through the Duxbury High School in the last 25 years or so you did so because someone before you paid for it. The existing school was built in the 60’s and that debt rolled off the books back in the 80’s. Therefore most of us have never paid for a high school. Guess what? It’s our turn.

Personally, we think we will look back on the building of new schools as an expensive undertaking but with tremendous value. We think the $14 dollars a week and its impact on our home finances will eventually fade and that supporting the new schools will look like one of the smartest things we have ever done.

Eleanor and Scott Mackay

Town Meeting Survival Guide

If you have never been to Town Meeting before, you may not know what to expect. As such, we decided to compile this “survival guide” to help you know what to expect.

You do not need to bring anything to Town Meeting. However, many people find that bringing a notebook and pen or pencil is helpful to make notes during the discussions. No food or drink is allowed in the PAC; bring a few dollars to get something to eat in the cafeteria at lunch. YoTaco and Benchwarmers are also nearby. Many people also find that something to occupy one’s hands is helpful. If you are a knitter, for example, bring a small project. (Wool Basket Yarns is offering 20% off today for mentioning “Town Meeting.”)

Town Meeting begins at 9AM at the Performing Arts Center. The schedule is usually 9AM-5PM, with lunch from 12PM-1PM. If we don’t get through all the articles on Saturday (unlikely this year), Town Meeting with be continued on Monday night, and can continue evenings until all articles have been addressed.

As you enter the PAC, you’ll see numerous tables of information regarding the various articles and issues before our town. There is some terrific information here -- as well as the opportunity to meet candidates for town offices.

To actually vote in the PAC, you must be registered to vote and you must sign in at the voter table. Your name will be checked off and you’ll be given a piece of paper. Hold on to this piece of paper; you will need it for counted votes!

You do NOT have to be present for the entire town meeting to vote, though the more that participate in whole, the more balanced the democratic process. There is no set time to check in. You just need to check in prior to the vote, whenever you arrive. You only have to check in once, and you can come and go from the auditorium as you please. There will be monitors around the lobby of the PAC so you can monitor what is going on in the auditorium. There are many interesting articles in the warrant and we hope you'll participate in as much of Town Meeting as you can.

You can text from within the auditorium. Step outside to make a phone call.

The format of the meeting itself follows Robert’s Rules of Order. Articles are presented, motions made, discussions ensue. Sometimes it can be a little confusing if an amendment comes up, so keep your ears open. Listen carefully -- and you’ll learn a lot.

If you choose to ask a question or comment on an article, step up to one of the microphones located around the auditorium. Wait for the moderator to recognize you, then state your name and address, and keep your comments brief, civil, and to the point. Passion is absolutely allowed.

As for the actual voting, most votes start as a voice vote. The moderator asks all in favor and all opposed. If the voice vote sounds close, it will go to a hand count. The moderator will ask all in favor to raise your hand. Now is the time to get out that piece of paper! Hold up your hand and keep it up until one  of the counters had indicated to your row that your vote has been recorded.

If you have any other questions about Town Meeting, please ask!!!

A Letter That Didn't Make It Into The Clipper

There were nine pages of letters in the Duxbury Clipper yesterday -- and even then, some didn't make the cut. The following is a letter that didn't make it, by Matthew Ali.
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I am an architect who has participated in the planning and design of three $100M plus buildings for higher education in the past seven years, two of which are public projects in Massachusetts. I am familiar with planning and design for large buildings dedicated to learning. There are many relevant factors to the process Duxbury is going through in regard to the schools but the three most important items are long term planning, trusted project leadership and cost control.

Major capital expenditures require long term planning to avoid bundling of costs and wasteful emergency repairs. We are being asked to pay for a series of new buildings simultaneously, during a time when some residents are affected by a poor economic environment. This situation is more of a result of the Town’s planning process than a recession. Renovation may have been an option many years ago; now the buildings are so neglected that this is no longer feasible. Planning does not imply excessive spending; in fact it is the opposite. Everyone benefits from identifying and agreeing on asset reinvestment needs and executing improvements in a methodical manner. New construction becomes the economically preferred option when regular improvements are not made, as is the case with the schools.

We need to trust the group charged with running the project. The individuals on the School Building Committee are qualified, dedicated and reasonable and have professional experience with education, construction and financial management. If there are questions about the education benchmarks, cost planning or needs assessment, just ask them. There is no need to accept their recommendations on blind faith and the SBC benefits from questions addressed to them directly.  Publicly proposing alternate plans without the requisite data or relevant professional experience has the appearance of attempting to discredit the Committee’s work rather than objective inquiry. 

There is no substitute for proper project management to keep the costs of the project in check. This includes controlling the project scope (size of buildings, program of spaces, etc.), allocating a realistic budget, and relentless scheduling review. Representatives from the schools, Town, designer and contractor must sit at one table to resolve conflicts and be held collectively responsible. Contingencies should be used to protect against overruns and total project costs should be identified; in this case, the SBC has done both. There are tools for managing any large construction project and specialized tools for publicly funded work in our state. Applying these tools will bring this project in on time and on budget.

The graduates of Duxbury have done well despite the obsolete buildings, but we can no longer dismiss the substandard conditions the children are learning in. Schools at all levels are adjusting teaching pedagogies and their campuses to the highly interactive and information rich world we live in now – our kids do not learn like we did. New school construction is the most cost effective way to provide the flexible, interactive and technologically appropriate learning environment for generations to come.

Things to Consider....

Blake Dalton, Principal of Duxbury Middle School, wrote the following in this week's newsletter. He has given us permission to reprint it here.

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Things to Consider...

As the Principal of Duxbury Middle School I’ve been asked several times do you need a new building? Simply put there are so many reasons your students deserve a new middle school building. To best understand the need,  several key items should be understood. Today’s middle schools are very different from the educational tradition of a junior high. Middle school builds the bridge from the elementary setting where a student spent the majority of the day with one teacher to the high school where a student travels from one discipline to another. A successful middle school builds small communities of learners and teachers into teams. In effect, middle schools develop a school within a school. For example, the 850 students currently enrolled at DMS are divided into 7 teams. These 7 teams are composed of roughly 120 students and 5 teachers. There are numerous learning advantages created by placing students on these teams. The most important being the ability for the teachers to get to know and understand the learning styles of the 120 students they teach. By working as a team and across disciplines, teachers are able to share teaching strategies and develop learning projects. In today’s progressive middle school, teachers develop integrated learning units, which cross over the traditional subject area boundaries. Modern middle schools have teaching teams in close proximity to one another in pods or clusters. As DMS was originally built as a high school the very physical layout of the building inhibits and interferes with our ability to have teaching teams located physically near each other. This in turn limits the teachers’ ability to work with their teaching teammates. DMS has very limited space for team gatherings and project work; it is not uncommon to see our students sitting on the floor in the halls working together on projects that the classrooms cannot accommodate.

As the Principal of Duxbury Middle School for the past 3 years, I have been privileged to work with professional educators and students who do not complain, and constantly ensure that no mater what the building throws at them; a leaking roof, a too cold or too hot classroom, that learning takes place. As the outstanding education of children is the town’s most important industry, it goes without saying that supporting the infrastructure has no down side. This year’s action by the MSBA to approve our yearly request for funding may seem inconvenient as the town also looks to approve the Fire and Police Station projects, but the reality is that the building committee had no way of knowing when or if ever the schools would be accepted by the MSBA. There is the tested adage that opportunity only knocks once, we should answer the door. With the MSBA’s approval for funding we have been given an outstanding opportunity to support and provide for our most important investment, our children.

Blake A. Dalton, Principal Duxbury Middle School

Lesson learned from Plymouth school delays

This letter, by a former Plymouth school committee member, was published in the March 6, 2011 Boston Globe, in the Globe South section. Thank you, Pat, for sharing your experience.

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I was interested to learn that Duxbury is currently approved to receive state reimbursement of over 43 percent for a new middle and high school, pending the outcome of a town vote.

As a former School Committee member in Plymouth, as well as a parent whose children were educated in “portable classrooms’’ (trailers) at Plymouth North, I urge Duxbury residents to not make the same mistake that Plymouth did. Back in 2003, Plymouth voted “No’’ to building a new high school, despite being approved for almost a 70 percent state reimbursement under the old guidelines for School Building Assistance. Plymouth passed up all that state money, left it on the table with a “No’’ vote, and the new Silver Lake High School was built in neighboring Kingston.

Meanwhile our schools were in a warning status for accreditation, our scores kept going down, and our students continued to be educated in trailers. Plymouth finally voted “yes’’ in 2006, and then had to wait to reapply under the new School Building Assistance guidelines. Approval was granted a second time, but at a lower rate.
 

Now a new Plymouth North is finally in construction here, as part of the state Model School Program, and we are receiving state reimbursement. Plymouth will finally have a new high school completed for the graduating class of 2013.

Don’t make Plymouth’s mistake — Vote “yes’’ to a new school building and have the state money come to Duxbury while you can.

Pat Adelmann
Plymouth

Childcare During Town Meeting

If you are looking for childcare during Town Meeting, there are several options available to you:

• The Duxbury Student Union is sponsoring The Wacky Olympics from 12:30-5:00 on Saturday, March 12. School-aged children can be dropped off for an afternoon of games and fun while you exercise your right to vote! The cost is $20 per child or $30 per family, and advance registration is required. Contact the DSU directly at admin@duxburystudentunion.com to register or learn more.
• Child care services for preschool (ages 3 and up/must be toilet trained) – school age children will be available at a reduced cost for Duxbury residents attending Town Meeting on Saturday, March 12th.   High school students will provide care in the Extended Day program classrooms at the Alden Elementary School.  The service is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the exception of the town meeting lunch break, when parents are asked to pick up their children.   The cost is $12 per child per day, or $6 per child for the morning session or afternoon session.  Each child should bring his/her own drink and snacks.  Families must register in advance for the child care service during Town Meeting.  Registrations will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the number of children attending will be limited to ensure proper staffing ratios.  Please call the Community Education office at 781-934-7633 by Thursday, March 10th  if you wish to register your child for the reduced cost child care service.
• Kate Garrity, a college (and DHS) graduate now living in Boston, plans to return home for the day with a couple of friends to care for a group of children at her parent's home. If you'd like to use this in-home option, please contact us and we'll put you in touch with Kate promptly. Email us at DuxburyCARES@gmail.com for more information. Thanks, Kate!
• Several teenagers in town have expressed an interest in helping with childcare for individual families. We have a limited list, but if you email us we can hopefully connect you. Again, email us at DuxburyCARES@gmail.com.
• If none of those options works for you, why not bring your kids to Town Meeting with you? Not only will your children learn about democracy in action, but they can show to others in town who, exactly, will be benefiting from new school buildings. Your children are the face of Duxbury Public Schools! In fact, there's still time to order (with rush deliver) a tshirt that says at much from the CafePress store. Visit CafePress.com/DuxburyCARES.

Following DuxburyCARES on Twitter -- and Getting Updates Directly to Your Text-enabled Phone

One of the ways DuxburyCARES has been reaching out to the community -- and highlighting the kind of technology and communication today’s students will need to be fluent with going forward -- is by using Twitter to broadcast short pieces of news and information about the project and the voting process in real-time.

Twitter is a hybrid of social networking and “microblogging” to provide a platform that is used for everything from simple personal connections to targeted product marketing to customer support initiatives to news dissemination and, yes,  teaching. It’s even had a role in major international events, such as the very recent “gentle” revolution in Egypt.

In the final days before Town Meeting, DuxburyCARES plans to use Twitter to update followers about last minute developments in the process, reiterate key points, and to remind voters to attend Town Meeting. You don’t need to be near a computer to follow these tweets; Twitter will allow you to configure a “follow” to deliver tweets to your text-enabled phone.

If you’ve ever wondered about Twitter, now might be just the time to check it out.

So…how do you go about setting this up?

1. You need to have a Twitter account. It’s free, and you can choose to hide or “protect” your tweets, or you can choose to let your tweets be public (of you choose to tweet at all!). Go to http://www.twitter.com/, click Sign Up, and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. Make sure your Twitter account is setup for mobile connectivity. Under your user name in the upper right corner, click Settings, then click Mobile. Enter your mobile phone number and click Start to verify.

3. Follow DuxburyCARES. Go to http://www.twitter.com/DuxburyCARES and click Follow.

4. From your mobile phone text “follow DuxburyCARES” to 40404. You will receive some confirmation texts and from this point forward you’ll receive all DuxburyCARES tweets on your phone as text messages.

You’re all set!

Let us know if you have any additional questions.

The Student View

Parents and other town residents are not the only ones talking about the proposed school building project; students are talking about it as well. Students, such as the two who write here, have experienced first hand what it is like to attend classes in the current buildings -- and they will get no benefit from the proposed new buildings.

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A Time to Move Forward
by Casey Reinhart, DHS '11

As a small town, Duxbury has always made up what it lacks in size in pride. Our pristine beach and the clear blue waters off it have become one of the top summer destinations. Even the oysters grown in those very waters have become world-renowned. Our teachers and administrators provide an education among the best in Massachusetts. Our library and archives offer extensive and comprehensive collections to satisfy every research need. Our sports teams are respected and feared. Yet few Duxbury residents can summon pride for our schools’ facilities and the state of deterioration they have been allowed to slip into.

These days, the hottest topic in education seems to be “twenty-first century skills”. When students graduate, they are expected to be competitive in today’s marketplace by having a thorough understanding of the technology which has been integrated into today’s business markets. Despite the town’s best efforts, the application of technology into students’ education always seems like a lost cause at Duxbury High School. The building was not wired or planned to handle this kind of demand. Most of the teachers are happy to get their classes to the computer lab a few times each term, and students’ skills have not progressed much beyond creating a PowerPoint presentation. Most of the students would probably agree that the bulk of their technological knowledge comes from at-home experience.

Beyond technology, the high school has been unable to meet the needs of the school community within the last few decades. Every year, the incoming freshmen class seems to be larger than the grade exiting and the building has not adjusted well to the strains placed upon it. Many of the classrooms are overcrowded and teachers’ offices have been displaced into what used to be storage closets. The movable partitions between classrooms, which have never actually been moved to most peoples’ knowledge, are so flimsy that teachers must occasionally yell over one another and movies become a distraction for the entire hallway. Classroom heaters are generally over or under-efficient, and in one particular English classroom the air conditioning runs through the winter.

Unfortunately, the poor state of our school buildings has often overshadowed the accomplishments of members of our school community. Progress that could be made within the classrooms is halted by a lack of resources, rendering us stuck in the past and unable to compete with other schools which are far more advanced. Opponents of the plan for new schools need to appreciate that this is a project which must be accomplished. Already the topic has been pushed aside too long, allowing the schools to reach their current condition. On March 12th vote yes for your children on article 18, vote yes for your town, and vote yes for pride.

New School, Please
by Emilie Munson, DHS '12

It is ironic that Duxbury High School, a school that strives to “provide a high quality, comprehensive education that enables students to make connections between learning and life,” allows life so frequently to interfere with learning. Yes, often this is unavoidable: students chatter, cell phones buzz, and people are late to class. However, there is one glaring disturbance to student’s learning which could be aptly remedied unlike so many of the others which are currently ignored: Duxbury High School’s physical facilities.

At a time in their lives when social lives are exponentially more important than academic ones, teens often find it difficult to focus in class. This fact is only compounded when the conversations or films of the class the next door can be heard clear as a bell. When designing the school years ago, it may have seemed like a good idea to include walls that can fold away, allowing two classrooms to be united as one. Today, however, this functionality is rarely used and the walls themselves are poor sound barriers against the day to day ruckus of high school classroom.

Another distracting factor in Duxbury High School is the wide range of temperatures students will encounter as they move from class to class. In some rooms, students may sit literally shivering in their metal desks and fifteen minutes later, in their next class, be forced to shed a layer. In summer months, students seek relief from the brutal heat, which permeates the classrooms, in the library, the only air-conditioned area of school. It is not uncommon for teachers to resort to bringing their students there in order to try to alleviate their heat-induced lethargy.

The Duxbury school building is sometimes not only a distraction, but a hazard. After the gas was shut off over Christmas break, it took science teachers three days to locate the switch which could turn it back on. At the conclusion of much searching, it was found behind an unmarked panel in the English wing. Not only did this fiasco prevent students from doing laboratory experiments using Bunsen burners for three days but it highlighted a significant problem: what if the gas had been stuck in the “on” position and there was a gas leak? How, then, could science teachers be expected to find the unmarked shut-off a floor away?

On the whole, despite the efforts of teachers and the custodial staff, the Duxbury school building is simply an unpleasant place to be. The locker rooms are a maze of gum-covered lockers and unused showers. The cafeteria is dark. Bits of insulation float down from the gym ceiling whenever a ball hits it. Students and teachers crave a clean, airy, organized building in which to learn and work. If ever there was a school that needed revamping, it would be this one.