The committee discussed the following topics: 

1. BUDGET
- What kind of budget are we looking at? Aimee notes that MCCPS has historically not been able to raise a lot of money in a given year (approximately $125K max) and suggests that exceeding that is unrealistic. 
- Do we have the funding to build new?  Becca will find out about getting financial info to this group.
- Peter notes that the biggest impact on operating budget is filling every seat: issue is attracting and retaining students to fill seats.
- How much did MCCPS pay for the building and how much it is worth? How much do we want to continue to invest?
- $30K just spent on HVAC system, which is working well.
- Group discussed the issue of the roof. Brad proposes doing a first pass, high level costing scenario of the roof and not make an ultimate decision now. Peter agrees. 
- Does the needed work all have to be done in one chunk? Or can it be multi-phased? What could we do first, then over time as money is available?

2. SCOPE
- So much potential in the unused space. What if we simply decluttered and used the warehouse with minimal construction? Do we need to build new? (Concern about how to deal with all the stuff in the warehouse; Jim notes that in his experience getting rid of the items will be easy). 
- Vertical expansion would be a huge capital expenditure. 
- There are a lot of "level one" fixes (paint, lighting)
- There are some "level two" fixes (mechanical, code)
- Peter notes that pressing issues are the roof (probably needs to be resolved by summer 2021) and one bank of bathrooms that routinely fails. Also the HVAC unit has a hairline crack.
- Do we want to keep the current roof line or do we want to expand out? Could we do the roof in portions?
- Group discusses what are the nice to haves vs. the must haves. No consensus at this point. 
- We need to think about planning for growth, flexibility, sustainability and possibly generating revenue. 
- Becca encourages the group to think about site.
- Peter notes the possibility of a black box theater. North Shore Children's Theatre pays, MCCPS gets income and space to use. 
- Peter notes the possibility of two schools: upper and lower. 
- Ariane asks whether bringing kids back full time is an immediate need. 

3. MISC
- Peter notes that we will need feedback from teachers. What kind of spaces and classrooms do they need. 
- Peter can outline proposed arts programming for the school long term. 
- Issue is retaining students, not attracting students. 230 students is the target enrollment.
- What features do students who age out wish to have at MCCPS? What would keep the kids who are leaving. Could we do a survey of students who are leaving or who have left? 
- Amy shares that she was on the retention committee for two years. Seventh and eight grade students have a lot more decision-making power than fourth and fifth grade students. Parents allow the kids to make the decisions. 50% of kids want bigger space. Sixth grade teachers have a huge impact on retention. Peter will share these retention research documents. 
 

ROLE OF THIS COMMITTEE
- Group had a robust discussion about the committee's intended role: who is making decisions? In the analogy of the homeowner, who is the homeowner? The Board? The Head of School? This committee? Becca and Peter explain that committee is meant to generate ideas and identify possible paths forward, then share those ideas / paths to the Board for the Board's consideration. 
- Peter observes that this committee needs to dream big, and then come up with what is realistic. 
- Group discusses the need to prioritize various renovations and improvements, to identify the cost of each of these elements, to identify the potential timeline and phasing possibilities. What is a five year plan, ten year plan, twenty year plan?
- Group discusses the need to determine how it is going to work, and identify what its goals are, who its target audience is, and what its deliverables will be. We need a mission and a mission statement as a way to focus our efforts. 
- Brad suggests having a goal setting session. What does this building need to do qualitatively? How does this align with the school's mission and charter? This information will let us figure out what programmatic elements we need to include.