A proposed land purchase and new high school dominated much of the discussion at Pelham School District’s deliberative session.

Voters gathered Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Pelham Elementary School.

The School Board is proposing three bond articles on this year’s ballot: $3 million to buy land for a new high school, $44.6 million to build the school and renovate the current high school, and $3.1 million to construct an auditorium at the new school.

The land consists of two parcels totaling 48 acres off Windham Road. Some voters during the meeting questioned if the $3 million price is too high. School Board member Linda Mahoney said she believes the land is overpriced.

An appraisal valued the land at $1.7 million. Due to a technical error it needed to be appraised again, and the second appraisal came back at $3 million, she said. The School Board was not a party to the purchase negotiations, Mahoney said.

Resident Mark Standish, a real estate appraiser, questioned if taxpayers should pay six times the land’s $482,000 assessed value and the validity of an appraisal that was based on land transactions done outside of Pelham.

Others defended the price, saying the land is flat, dry, easily accessible and would require minimal site work costs to develop.

“If the owners want to sell this land to a developer, they will get their price,” said former Plan ning Board member Bill Scanzani. “I urge you to take the one opportunity you have to make a smart decision and purchase this land while you can. If you don’t, there aren’t many alternatives in town.”

In advocating for a four-school model, School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said student enrollment is projected to increase 20 percent in 10 years and that schools are currently full or over capacity. The new high school would be built for 1,000 students, with core facilities, such as the cafeteria and gymnasium, constructed to accommodate 1,200 students.

The current high school would be renovated to accommodate grades 7 and 8. Life safety improvements would be made and spaces reconfigured to accommodate junior high school needs, Couture said.

Some residents raised concerns about a new school’s cost to taxpayers. Brian Mahoney said taxpayers would incur the operating costs to run it. Lorraine Dube said that extra space should be provided to students at a cost that doesn’t hit taxpayers hard.

“It’s not that they wouldn’t love to have a new high school, they would love it, but they don’t believe they can afford it,” she said.