Driscoll School Opinion: Vote Yes For Brookline's Future

The following opinion piece was co-written by Town Meeting Member, Precinct 11, David Lescohier, and Driscoll Parent Dan Deutch:

As members of the Driscoll School Building Committee, we urge you to vote YES on Tuesday, December 10th, to fund the reconstruction of Driscoll School. Voting no leaves Driscoll as-is -- overcrowded, with no improvements to student experience, but millions to be spent on emergency repairs — likely for many years to come.

There are many reasons to vote YES, no matter where you live in town.

1. New Driscoll is part of a comprehensive plan. After the May override failed, the School Committee considered eight possible comprehensive plans to solve Town-wide overcrowding and found that every feasible plan includes expanding Driscoll. Therefore, in September 2019, the School Committee recommended going ahead with New Driscoll now.
2. New Driscoll meaningfully helps solve overcrowding. Old Driscoll currently houses 600 students in a building truly sized for closer to 450. New Driscoll will accommodate 800 students, an increase of 200 over current enrollment. The current 600 students will no longer be jammed into space for only 450. This is why New Driscoll is a key part of the Town-wide comprehensive plan. This comprehensive plan maps future steps to eliminate overcrowding in Brookline's schools. Importantly, as part of this plan, New Driscoll has already been designed and is ready for technical drawings, bidding, and construction. It is the only school building project that will provide relief from overcrowding within the next 4 years.
3. Building new is cheaper than renovating and expanding. The Driscoll Building Committee considered renovation-only options. “The resulting structure would still be deficient with undersized classrooms, cafeteria, and multi-purpose spaces, inadequate administrative area, and safety deficiencies.” A renovation option with minimally sufficient expansion was also considered, but was estimated, including the cost of swing space, to exceed the cost of the recommended New Driscoll construction by $8 million.
4. New Driscoll is green. The new building is designed for fossil-fuel-free operation and provides for a 34% increase in play/open space on site--for the enjoyment of students and the community as a whole.
5. New Driscoll’s projected cost is reasonable and appropriate for a pre-K-8 school. As designed, it is less expensive per student, per square foot than the Florida Ruffin Ridley School or what the Baldwin School would have cost.

There is no realistic option to do nothing at Driscoll--it will require a major repairs and eventually capital investment no matter what. Saying no at the voting booth means saying yes to more cost increases down the road, and kids and teachers in substandard learning conditions for more school years.

Please vote YES on December 10th.

—David Lescohier, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 11, Advisory Committee, and Driscoll School Building Committee member

—Dan Deutch, Driscoll parent, Driscoll School Building Committee, and School Council member

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