To:             Town Meeting Members
                  Board of Selectmen
                  Town Committees and Officials
From:         Vision 2020, Fiscal Resources Task Group
Subject:     Special Town Meeting Articles Funding the School
                   Renovation Project
Date:          May 3, 1995

As we approach the start of our Special Town Meeting, there are many questions on the minds of Arlington's residents about the school renovation project. Over the past year, our Task Group has listened to many residents, tried to determine which questions are the most important, and started to develop answers to these questions. Throughout this process, we kept coming back to one basic question:

In the attached report, we have tried to answer this question as accurately as possible, based on the best information currently available. We hope this report is useful to you as you consider this important and complex project.

If you have any questions about this report, you may call 646-1936.

signed,
Allen Reedy
Fiscal Resources Task Group, Vision 2020

Acknowledgments
The Fiscal Resources Task Group would like to thank the following individuals and groups for their assistance with information and support, without which this report would not be possible:

Superintendent of Schools
Board of Assessors
Assessors Office
Infrastructure Working Group
Finance Committee
Vision 2020 Standing Committee
Funding the School Renovation Project

Table of Contents
Introduction
Scope of the Project
Project Cost Assumptions
Project Funding Assumptions
Property Tax Impact
Alternatives
Spreadsheets


Introduction
In trying to answer the question "How much will the school renovation project cost me?" we have to start by making reasonable assumptions about the scope of the project, the cost of the project, and the funding of the project.

Scope of the Project
Over the last 2-3 years, discussions about a school renovation project have included the Ottoson School, the seven elementary schools and the high school. Further, there have been discussions and debates about the number of elementary schools to be renovated, as well as discussions about whether these schools will qualify for partial reimbursement from the state's school building assistance program.

The project as described in this report assumes that the renovations to the Ottoson Middle School will be funded by the Capital Budget of the Town and by any "private" funding that might be available. Further, the project as described in this report does not include renovations to the high school. Therefore, this report considers the project to be limited to the seven elementary schools.

The school renovations are documented in the School Facility Master Plan Study by the architectural firm of Strekalovsky & Hoit, Inc. In addition, detailed architectural plans have been developed for three of the elementary schools. The cost assumptions presented later in this report are based on this study and these plans.

Project Cost Assumptions

1. 7 elementary schools
   The School Committee has voted that the renovation project include all seven elementary schools.
   
2. Renovation costs as provided by the Superintendent and Takeoffs, Inc.
   The Superintendent of Schools provided cost estimates for the Brackett, Hardy and Bishop schools, and the estimating firm of Takeoffs, Inc. provided cost estimates for the remaining four schools.
   

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