Lebanon
Board members Tammy Begin, Mary Davidson, Wendy Hall, Erin Madory and Adam Nemeroff voted to support the projects, which would create safer school entrances, provide students with more space and build an auditorium and arts center at Lebanon High School.
School Board Chairman Jeff Peavey and board members Susan Louzier and Christina Haidari opposed, citing concerns that the auditorium’s $10.5 million price tag will doom a ballot vote. Vice Chairman Richard Milius abstained from the vote.
“If it gets shot down, what are we going to do about the space at Hanover Street School?” Louzier asked.
Complaints from parents and teachers at the elementary school have long been made to the board, she said. Problems of teachers and students jostling for space are largely what led to a review of the district’s buildings and creation of the renovation plans, Louzier said.
In the event the article fails, students and teachers would be forced to wait another year before the board could again propose construction.
“We are tapping our taxpayers again and again every year,” she said.
However, other board members countered that the public should get an opportunity to weigh in on the project as a whole, including the auditorium. If a vote fails, they said, the board can come back and rework plans next year.
“I feel like they have the right to weigh in on it and say whether they support it or not,” Madory said.
Sixty percent of voters would need to approve the ballot measure to borrow about $28.9 million. Another $1,098,000 would come from the district’s capital reserve accounts to fund construction of a new maintenance facility.
Paying back the bond could increase the school district’s tax rate by $1.35 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value in the first year, according to Tim Ball, the district’s business administrator, who was using initial estimates from the New Hampshire Municipal Bond Bank.
That would amount to an additional $337.50 in taxes on a home valued at $250,000.
Both parents and educators present at Wednesday’s meeting expressed support of the projects, saying they would provide better learning opportunities and cultural experiences to the community.
“I just received my tax bill, so I’m especially mindful this evening of how much it costs to live in this town,” Lebanon High School Principal Ian Smith said before praising the proposed 650-seat auditorium and adjoining arts center.
About $12.1 million would be spent on updates at the high school, which would include a new lobby, arts center and 2,000-square-foot entrance to the gym, a project that was added to the total list on Wednesday.
Marinace Architects, a New Hampton, N.H.-based firm that planned the recent expansion at Mascoma Valley Regional High School, designed the renovations and said the proposed entrance would prevent people from having to walk through the Hanover Street School to access sporting events.
The Hanover Street School also would see major improvements, including the addition of three classrooms, an office suite and its own cafeteria.
Parents from that school signaled their support for the upgrades in October. On Wednesday, their counterparts at the Mount Lebanon School joined in praising the plans.
Mount Lebanon is expected to gain a new lobby, office suite and an expanded multipurpose room that could be used both as a cafeteria and for gym classes. The space is much needed, according to Jody Stone, the school’s librarian.
Teachers are so pressed for one-on-one space that Mount Lebanon’s library tables often are reserved all day, she said, meaning students actually looking to check out or read books frequently cannot use the space for its intended purpose.
“I have taught at every one of those spaces in the library,” said MaryLu Washington, an English and language arts teacher who told the board she’s been forced to resort to closets, floors and hallways in her duties.
“We get it done. We make it happen, but we are really tight this year,” she said.
The School Board’s vote to approve the renovation projects comes as it begins planning next year’s school budget. The board is expected to finalize that budget in December, and the district will hold its deliberative session in late January or early February.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.