The Superintendent of Schools is announcing the formation of an Elementary Building Use Task Force. Two sets of facts are driving the need for this task force. First, Wayland is already a highly desirable community for young families and it is becoming even more so given projects such as the Town Center, new High School and new pool. Although our student enrollment is projected to be flat for the near future, we need to be prepared for the possibility of increased school enrollment. Second, some of our school common areas and specialist classrooms are too small for the purposes for which they are being used. Should enrollment increase, we want to be well prepared to discuss the pros and cons of any changes in grade configuration or building usage at Claypit Hill, Happy Hollow, and Loker. Should we want to invest in fixing the problem of what a recent space utilization study called, “over-utilized” space, we similarly need to be prepared to discuss the pros and cons of any building projects. The Task Force will be charged with identifying options, conducting a cost/benefit analysis for each option, and recommending options that it feels should remain under consideration.
The Task Force will be composed of 6 community members (two from each of the three elementary school districts as they were previously constituted), 3 teachers, 3 principals, a school committee member, the Assistant Superintendent, the Director of Student Services, and the Superintendent. We will be looking for parent representatives from each of the three elementary school as they were previously constituted and/or for professionals whose expertise would be valuable to the Task Force (such as architecture, data analyst, educator). Meetings will take place on Monday afternoons from 3:30 until 5:30 PM in the Town Building. Meetings scheduled thus far are as follows: 9/10, 9/24, 10/1, 10/15, 10/22, 11/ 5 and 11/12.
Please consider joining us in this important effort. Applications are available at the Wayland Public Schools Website:
