CROYDON — The School Board is seeking more information before it makes any decisions or recommendation to voters on a $1.17 million federal grant secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., for repairs and possible expansion of the Croydon Village School.
“This is exciting but we can’t do anything right now,” School Board Chairman Aaron McKeon said this week.
He said he wants to see the application and what it involves, understand all the requirements and find out how long the process is going to take.
The district still must officially apply for the grant, which would require a 25% local match, McKeon said. That process, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is expected to begin in a couple of months, he said.
Regardless of how the district decides to proceed, McKeon said any decision would not impact the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. Nor would it alter planned renovations to the school that voters approved in March and are scheduled to begin next summer.
Additionally, if the board elects to consider using the grant to expand the school, voter approval of the local match would be needed. The grant, if fully utilized, would require a match of $390,000 for a total project cost of $1.56 million, according to a message posted on the school district’s website.
“There is still a process to go through,” McKeon said. “I don’t know what the timing is going to be for the official awarding of the grant. All they have done is announced the funds have been approved by Congress and earmarked. It doesn’t mean we have actually been awarded a grant yet.”
The initial grant application included expansion of the school’s footprint with additional classroom space, McKeon said. At the time, the board was developing a plan to expand the village school. The school was built in the late 1780s and currently serves grades K-4.
However, at the annual school district meeting last March, voters rejected a warrant article for a $1.24 million bond for a project to add classrooms and accommodate grades preschool through third.
Instead, voters approved a $355,000 bond to renovate the building known as “Little Red” for preschool and kindergarten, with the school district paying tuition for the remaining grades to go other districts.
The current grant situation will not impact the renovation project, McKeon said.
“We are still proceeding with the work and have already approved some subcontractors,” McKeon said.
Scheduled to begin after school ends in June, the upgrades will include compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, a new roof and flooring, repointed brick and insulation added to the basement. A modular classroom that has been in use for almost 20 years will also be removed.
In September, the School Board announced it had reached a five-year agreement with the Kearsarge Regional School District establishing Kearsarge as an “anchor district” for Croydon beginning next September. This agreement guarantees Kearsarge will accept any Croydon student in grades 1-12.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.