Teachers still have to weigh in on school district’s master plan

Feedback from teachers and other Newton Community School District staff is needed before the school board moves forward with its master planning process.

Newton Superintendent Tom Messinger told school board members on Jan. 23 that the next phase of the master planning process includes a meeting with staff. The meeting will take place 4 to 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at the auditorium of Newton High School. All staff in the school district are invited to attend.

For those who are not able to attend the meeting, administrators have arranged for it to be recorded. The next day, staff members will be given a survey about the information presented during the meeting The survey will close at 6 a.m. Feb. 6, and information gathered from the survey will be presented to the board.

“They will get the explanation of the different scenarios,” Messinger said of the upcoming meeting. “…This is the next piece of the puzzle on the master planning. Just wanted to give you an update, as well as let the public know that the input from the community group is still being used as part of that process.”

Robyn Friedman, president of the NCSD Board of Education, said the meeting is a deviation to what was initially planned. The board had talked about it just being a video presentation that people can watch on their own. Representatives from FRK Architects and Engineers were uncomfortable with that original idea.

“They feel there’s benefit of having dialogue, people in the room be heading that in a different direction, but being true to what the board also wanted,” Friedman said. “Because we knew not everyone would probably be able to attend a meeting and we didn’t want to take it out of the regular school day again.”

School board members are welcome to attend the meeting but are encouraged to not speak so as not to alter the opinions of teachers.

“This is just for staff to be able to get input, and then immediately after that it would be available. Whatever happens on the stage, which again if you’re watching it, you would then also be able to see the dialogue that happens, people asking questions,” Friedman said.

The assessments from the exploration committee tasked with taking a hard look at the future of the Newton school district recommended three separate scenarios that would see the district either renovate, repurpose, remodel and/or demolish buildings, as well as construct a new center for preschool.

• Scenario A: Construct a new grades 1-4 elementary school at Thomas Jefferson or Aurora Heights site and demolish original buildings, selling Woodrow Wilson Elementary site for development and add and remodel Emerson Hough for a pre-K and kindergarten center. This scenario costs more than $40 million.

• Scenario B: Add and remodel Emerson Hough for pre-K-1st grade center, add onto and remodel Thomas Jefferson Elementary into a nine-section grades 2-4 building and then sell the remaining sites for redevelopment. This scenario costs more than $20 million.

• Scenario C: Build a new pre-K-1st grade center at Woodrow Wilson site, repurpose Berg Middle school into a grades 2-6 center, add a new grades 7-8 center to the high school and then sell the remaining sites for redevelopment. This scenario is estimated to cost about $40 million.

The committee reported Scenario A would create better synergy at grade-level collaboration. It also addresses evening out culture between buildings. According to the report, the committee believes Scenario A would be an easier sell than Scenario C. Both scenarios cost about the same amount of money.

The committee also noted drawbacks to Scenario A. The traffic could pose a problem, and all students would be bused. The committee also suggested using the Aurora Heights site over Thomas Jefferson for its more centralized location. The committee would also rather build on a new site than an existing site.

Scenario B provides most operational savings for the upfront cost of more than $20 million. It doesn’t build a new building, which might be more palatable in the community. The committee said the scenario also improves culture differences between buildings with grade-level configuration.

On the other hand, Scenario B’s pre-K-1st grade split “seems arbitrary” and that first grade may be better off educationally with other elementary students. This scenario also doesn’t improve the district’s “brand” for Newton elementary schools. And, again, Aurora Heights site was suggested over Thomas Jefferson.

Summary notes from Scenario C points out the moving of grades 5-6 back to the elementary level could be an upside. It also moves grades 7-8 to high school level. The scenario addresses wider community conversation about grades 5-6 at middle school level that has already started; it also address high school issues.

But moving grades 7-8 to high school could be problematic for the age and maturity differences. Money for Berg Middle School upgrades could upset community since it is so new, too. The early education center also could be moved to an existing building to save money.

The committee also noted a grades 7-9 center could be an option.