WEST LEBANON — School officials this week declined to pursue a $737,940 state building aid grant for renovations at the Mount Lebanon School, saying voters are unlikely to support a standalone construction project.
The School Board voted, 8-1, Wednesday night to decline an offer from the New Hampshire Department of Education to fund part of a roughly $4.4 million upgrade of the West Lebanon elementary school.
“We felt that this is not the right time for this project and we probably wouldn’t have the support of the community,” Aaron Mills, chairman of the School Board’s Finance and Facilities Committee, said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Accepting the money could create a “Lebanon split” because upgrades at the Hanover Street School wouldn’t be funded, Mills said. He added that financial worries stemming from the coronavirus could also lead to the defeat of any bond put forward on the March warrant.
The grant, which was contingent on a successful city bond vote, would have required the school district to immediately foot $300,000 to design work in order to meet state deadlines.