Andover Elementary/Middle School and its school board are eager for members of the public to learn more about the facilities project proposal that was voted on at our September board meeting. In addition to the public hearing scheduled for January 18 and the vote for a bond on March 6, we have arranged two separate dates for Andover residents to learn more about this important plan to implement long-needed facility repairs and improvements to AE/MS. Here are the details:
On Tuesday, November 1, and Tuesday, December 6, at Andover Elementary/Middle School, from 5 to 6 PM, Principal Jane Slayton will conduct a tour of the building to demonstrate firsthand the areas addressed by the facilities project. From 6 to 6: 30 PM, an information session on the facilities project will be held at the school cafeteria. At 6:30 PM, at the start of the Andover School Board meeting, there will be an opportunity to provide public comment about the plan. We welcome your feedback!
If you cannot make either of those dates for a tour, Principal Slayton has agreed to provide a tour for you during the school day. Please contact her at 735-5400 or JSlayton@nullAEMSeagles.org to schedule one if this better suits your schedule.
The last significant upgrade to AE/MS was a quarter century ago, with the construction of the middle school wing in 1992. Since that time, quick fixes have been made in a piecemeal fashion through the budget process to address code compliance and other time-sensitive infrastructure issues.
In 2007, a $4.7 million bond was brought before the voters to address facilities improvements at AE/MS in a more comprehensive and sustainable way, but was defeated.
At the 2014 annual meeting, voters approved $50,000 in funding for a study to examine what facilities needs of the school have gone unmet over the years. We encourage you to read that study (which came in under budget at $38,000), authored by Marinace Architects and available online at Goo.gl/uhy5SO.
On the heels of the study, the School Board empowered a task force of diverse members of the Andover community to dig into the study and weigh in on it. This Facilities Task Force sought input from the community, helped identify and prioritize needs, and ultimately was able to reduce the study’s estimated budget of $5.46 million by 34% to the currently proposed budget of $3.6 million.
Under a 15-year bond scenario, this comes to a potential tax impact of $0.97 to $1.27 (an average of $1.12) per $1,000 of assessed home value for the duration of the bond.
The reduced budget for the project reflects a sharp focus on the most essential safety, systems, and space needs surrounding AE/MS. Roughly two-thirds of the project addresses repair and renovations, such as outdated electrical wiring, code compliance, roof infrastructure, energy efficiency, and the like, while the remaining third speaks to AE/MS’ current space constraints, chiefly in the area of the cafeteria and kitchen, general purpose classrooms, and dedicated special education space.
We hope you can join us for one of the two dates we are offering (or, if it’s better for your schedule, a daytime tour) to provide more information on this plan and to receive your feedback.