Thursday, April 20, 2000 Older Editions

Article 9: Officials want new schools to soften the space crunch

By Rebecca Lipchitz

West Middle School has managed the space crunch like many other schools in Andover.

According to a letter from Principal Vicki Simms sent to parents, this year, students are not allowed to carry their backpacks from class to class to save space in the hallways; four teachers have no classroom and use class time to set up and pack up their instructional materials; the media specialists work with three classes at a time, and the nursing staff is responsible for looking after 680 students.

Within the next two years, they expect not only to run out of lockers, but run out of wall space to install more lockers, she says.

They also expect to add lunch periods, making some lunch times as early as 10:30 a.m.

While every school is working to make the most of their space, issues such as class sizes and professional-planning time cannot be addressed because space issues are the priority for most schools, Simms says.

"We cannot, however, ignore the fact that the once gradual change has now reached significant proportions," Simms says.

Andover seeks approval to build two new schools to alleviate overcrowding in Andover's elementary and middle schools. The project would include a middle school and an elementary school on one campus at Cross Street and High Plain Road in West Andover.

For the project to pass, voters at Town Meeting must approve articles 9, 11 and 12, and a debt-exclusion vote May 23.

Article 9 would allow the town to appropriate $31.9 million for construction of the schools, the sewer line and sidewalks on the school site. Sixty percent of the cost would be reimbursed by the state, ultimately costing Andover $12.6 million. The money would not be appropriated unless voters also approve a debt exclusion vote on May 23.

Article 11 would allow the Town to swap with the AVIS conservation agency a piece of conservation land near the site of the proposed school project for another strip of land near Andover High School. The sewer line for the new school would run through what is now a piece of AVIS conservation land.

Article 12 confirms the town's ownership of the land at Cross Street and High Plain Road where the new schools would be built.

The schools project would include an elementary school for 564 students and a middle school for 450 students.

The schools are designed to hold an equal number of classes per grade, to ensure that a student who enters the school in kindergarten will be able to attend the same school until leaving in fifth or eighth grade.

School Committee member Eric Nadworny says officials can estimate projected enrollments for the next 10 years.

Construction of two new schools would allow every Andover school building to be used as it was intended, with rooms dedicated to art, music, and other programs, some of which are now forced into hallways and closet space.

While some residents were surprised when recent renovations to South and Sanborn elementary schools did not put a stop to "art on a cart," they can expect more from this proposed project, Nadworny says.

While the new schools are expected to be 95-percent full when they open in 2002, they will allow Andover schools to operate within capacity for the next 10 years, Nadworny says.

School Building Committee Chairman Mark Johnson says expected changes in state law could mean the project would not be reimbursed by the state if it is not approved by voters this year.

But if voters approve the project at Annual Town Meeting and in the debt exclusion override vote May 23, the project is guaranteed to be reviewed for reimbursement by the state, Johnson says.

Laws recently passed changing the state School Building Assistance program makes projects that have not had a space-needs conference with the state by Jan. 1, 2000, and been submitted by June 1, ineligible for the next round of state reimbursement.

Further anticipated changes to the laws could mean state reimbursement policies will change for future projects, Johnson says.