Woodsville
Even though a moratorium on most new aid projects has been in place in Concord since 2010, the Haverhill School Board last week voted to submit an application, hoping to be a priority should funds begin to flow again.
The “pre-K-8” project, as officials are calling the merger of the elementary and middle schools, could cost as much as $8 million, according to SAU 23 Superintendent Laurie Melanson. Planned high school improvements could reach about $4 million, she said.
Melanson noted as she provided the figures that the operational savings from closing the elementary school would be a significant offset to the $8 million cost.
The School Board and its Strategic Facilities Committee are scheduled to meet tonight to find ways to lower the costs further, she said.
“We have a new (high school) principal, wonderful teachers, wonderful kids, and we’re just trying to improve their school space and their educational opportunities,” Melanson said on Monday.
The SAU superintendent said the discussions about building projects had begun years ago with hopes of new buildings and substantial expansions, but plans had become much more modest since then.
“All those things cost so much money that we’re just looking to renovate what’s there and build a bridge to connect the two buildings,” she said, referring to Woodsville High School and an adjacent community center.
As part of a three-year evaluation of the district’s opportunities to save on costs while also improving educational offerings and school security, the Strategic Facilities Committee this summer recommended closing the 54-year-old Woodsville Elementary School and expanding the middle school to accommodate its students.
Although the elementary and high schools are located less than a mile apart off Route 302 in Woodsville, the middle school stands nearly six miles to the south in North Haverhill.
A draft drawing from Montpelier-based architects Black River Design, dated March 23, shows several small proposed additions to the middle school, a few of which would simply be tacked on to the ends of existing wings.
With or without the state grants, educational administrators are preparing for a bond vote in February, according to Melanson. If voters reject the request, she said, school officials could instead add short-term repairs to the school budget for Town Meeting in March.
As it stands, the high school, which dates to the late 19th century, is sorely in need of work to bring it into compliance with fire code and the Americans with Disabilities Act, she said. The facility lacks an elevator to the second floor, so when disabled students need to take a class or enroll in a school program, it has to be moved downstairs.
The district’s technology infrastructure is another point of worry.
“At this point, if too many kids try to get on the computers at the same time, it shuts them all down,” Melanson said. “Try to deliver a 21st-century education in that environment.”
On Tuesday, state Rep. Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill, said he expected to see a push from the Legislature next year to restart the aid program.
Ladd, who is chairman of the House Education Committee, said the program could start distributing money in summer 2017, though he said there could be very little available — perhaps $15 million for the entire state, if lawmakers don’t dramatically expand existing appropriations.
Since the new Legislature will start working on the budget in January and it would likely take effect in July, Ladd said, school districts should file their applications now.
The Haverhill representative predicted that his constituent town would likely receive a top spot in the priority queue, and, because of its economic profile, also probably would qualify to receive a 55 percent reimbursement on project costs.
“Woodsville has a very strong chance of being a recipient,” Ladd said. “(Their buildings) are in very bad shape right now.”
He warned, however, that a recently adopted rule in the application process gave decreased priority to districts that had taken state aid for safety projects from other sources.
“There’s a caution there,” he said. “Before you accept something during this moratorium, be careful.”
Although Ladd spoke of a push to restore funding, he also said some legislators, in an effort to protect their communities from being “donor towns,” likely would try to cap all reimbursements at 30 percent of cost.
“If I were a Haverhill taxpayer,” Melanson said, “I would be contacting my reps down in Concord asking that state aid be distributed again.”
Melanson said the public is welcome to attend tonight’s gathering of the Haverhill School Board and the Strategic Facilities Committee, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Woodsville High School library, but added that the meeting will mostly be devoted to work sessions among board members.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.