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Falmouth School Board
Elementary School Building Committee Minutes
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

1.         Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order by Mark Terison at 7:01 p.m.  Committee members in attendance were Karen Boffa, Beppie Cerf, George Entwistle, Karen Farber, Beth Franklin, Jean Gulliver, Andy Hyland, Teresa Pierce, Judy Schneider, Bonnie Taylor, Mark Terison, and Penny Wheeler-Abbott.  Rob Tillotson, Jacques Gagnon and Kerry Green were in attendance from Oak Point. 

2.         Discuss and process Public Forum II input:
There was a discussion about the current site and that there are still people out there who want the current site to be considered.  Community members have spoken to a couple of committee members after the Public Forum.  A committee member commented that it is important that the committee is on the same page so they can go out to the public and answer any questions that may arise.

Some questions that came up during this discussion were:  Why keep Plummer Motz?  Can it be moved?  What would Plummer-Motz be used for if not a school?  Someone asked if the decision to not renovate the current site was driven by cost?  Rob Tillotson indicated that it is not driven by cost, but by the needs of the students.  Mrs. Boffa stated that safety is a huge issue on the current site and that it must be a priority in this process.  It was suggested that the committee look at the pros and cons of the current site (option A) including the cost of temporary housing.  It was stated that the committee needs to decide on what option B is and then also look at the pros and cons. 

During the Public Forum, a community member questioned whether the middle school fields have been considered.  That topic was discussed at the DOE earlier in the day. 

3.         Results of October 23 DOE Construction Team meeting:
Rob Tillotson informed the committee that the topic of looking at the middle school site came up earlier that day with the DOE.  The State thinks that the middle school field site could be a viable solution for a new school.  Dr. Entwistle stated from an administrative  standpoint, having the schools all together on a campus setting would be better and efficiencies grow even more with one campus. 

There are many issues that need to be looked at with respect to the middle school site, i.e., transportation problems, sidewalk needs, traffic flow, the need for a traffic light, etc.  The question was asked if anyone had an opinion on what it is like having an elementary school near a middle school and high school.  Penny Wheeler-Abbott indicated that it works well in Cumberland.  It gives students access to certain special classes and the mentoring of younger kids is easier with the older students close by.

The DOE has not made a final decision on where the 5th grade will go. 

4.         Status and next steps
It was decided that at the next meeting (November 15), the committee should take a parallel look at Option A and Option B.  Rob Tillotson will conduct a site analysis on the middle school site and report on their findings and thoughts on the 15th of November.  The goal for the November 15 meeting is for the committee to decide what direction to go in:  Option A or B.

5.         Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.