11/14/2018

Committee begins gathering information on structural, safety concerns for school buildings

A committee with a wide range of community representation is meeting to begin assessing the facilities needs of Cape Elizabeth schools.

The first of the School Department's Facilities Needs Assessment Committee meetings, held Nov. 7, 2018, was well attended and focused on a tour of athletic facilities at the High School, said School Board Chair Susana Measelle Hubbs. "(High School Principal) Jeff Shedd and (Athletic Director) Jeff Thoreck provided the tour, basically showing the challenges present in the athletic department and safety issues related to those challenges," Measelle Hubbs said at the Nov. 13, 2018 meeting of the School Board.

Each of the four scheduled meetings will concentrate on a different aspect of facilities needs.

The committee is charged with gathering information on structural and safety-related concerns at all three Cape Elizabeth schools, gathering input from all stakeholders and providing feedback to Colby Company, the engineering firm that was slated to perform a facilities needs assessment that was, however, not funded in the 2019 school budget.

"The ultimate charge of the committee will be to gather sufficient due diligence so that the cost of a thorough Needs Assessment Study can be determined and a recommendation can be made to the School Board at the beginning of the FY20 School Board Budget Cycle in January 2019," according to the committee charge.

A wide range of committee representatives attended the first meeting, including school administrators, teachers, students; community members with and without children in the schools; School Board members and members of the Town Council; and representatives from Colby Company and Scott Simons Architects.

Five members of the public also attended, and the committee invites and encourages more public attendance.

Here is the schedule of remaining meetings:

• Nov. 28 at the Pond Cove/Middle School cafetorium.
  
• Dec. 5 at the High School library and learning commons.
  
• Jan. 9, at a place to be determined.

All are Wednesdays, and all begin at 6:30 p.m.

Agendas, minutes and other information about the committee are available on the School Department's website.

One of the School Board's goals for the year is to participate with the Town Council in the formation of a committee, composed of all stakeholders, to fund and finalize the School Facilities Study plan.