Looking to avoid a loss of accreditation, school administrators have teamed up with education officials and local residents to find a solution to the high school’s failing facilities.

Since the New England Association of Schools and Colleges put the school on a warning status in November – citing 31 areas that need improvements, including inadequate classroom space, outdated equipment and insufficient instructional materials – Superintendent Frank Bass said a committee of local residents have been meeting on a weekly basis to determine the best course of action.

Sean Minuti, a member of the high school facilities committee formed last spring in response to the problems plaguing the high school, said administrators and educators were aware of the issues at the high school before the report came out in November.

“The administration knows the space issues and how equipment is getting old,” he said. “I’m not sure that we were surprised by that report. We’re hoping that it will help the rest of the town to get more in tune to the issues. It’s really up to the whole town body to kind of come together on a solution.”

The committee is currently examining solutions, including building a new school on a different site, building additional classroom space or renovating the entire structure, according to Minuti.

Though the committee – sidetracked by December’s ice storm and the holidays – does not plan to give a recommendation to the School Board in time to put together a warrant for March’s town meeting, Muniti said the committee hoped to have their work wrapped up early this spring, giving the board a year to publicize the issue before putting anything before voters.

According to Principal Dorothy Mohr, the school has two years to complete at least 30 percent of the needed improvements to avoid a probationary status or a loss of accreditation. A special progress report detailing the school district’s plans to address the deficiencies is due in May.

In the meantime, she said the warning status would only affect those students applying to competitive colleges or universities.

“When it may come down to one seat, colleges may look at the accreditation of the student’s school,” Mohr said. “The major impact will come later. If we lose accreditation it may determine where (students) can go to school. You’re going to see the affect on property values and the school’s ability to attract teachers.”

Either a major renovation of the existing facility or the construction of a new building would keep the high school accredited, according to Mohr, though she said that with the tough economic times, education officials would have to get creative and think outside of the box to convince voters of the need.

Minuti said residents had taken a minimalist approach to making improvements in the past and the real challenge lay in getting past what he described as a townwide sentiment.

“There is a wide spectrum of people (in town) with different interests,” he said. “There’s new families with young kids, older families that don’t have kids in the schools anymore, and trying to figure out a common ground for the full spectrum of the town is challenging.”