Pelham News : school board

Pelham High School fix needed

Salem Editor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:51:00 GMT

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school on a warning status in November – citing 31 areas that need improvements, including inadequate classroom space, outdated equipment and insufficient instructional materials – Superintendent Frank Bass said a committee of local residents have been meeting on a weekly basis to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.”

Pelham High School status in jeopardy

Salem Editor — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:00:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges is expected to act on an accreditation report of Pelham High School within the next few weeks.

According to a preliminary report, the condition of the high school building is inadequate, which could cause the NEASC to put the school on accreditation probation or issue a warning.

“Clearly, the issue is facilities,” said Superintendent Frank Bass, adding most Pelham residents are well aware the building is insufficient. “The problem is this is a tough economic time to look at expansion and refurbishing the building.”

The NEASC’s Commission on Public Secondary Schools completed their report on PHS’s adherence to technical and learning standards as well as support standards for accreditation, which takes place every 10 years, Bass said.

A 15-member team visited the school for four days, from April 6 to 9, to evaluate programming, curriculum, the building, professional development and assessment among various other points of interest in the accreditation process.

The team reviewed a self-study conducted by school administrators, parents, students, teachers and support staff between September 2006 and February 2008. This is the first step in the accreditation process for every school in all New England states under the NEASC.

The commission’s report, posted on Pelham High’s Web site, outlines its findings and recommendations. Instruction, curriculum and ingenuity in teaching methods are among the things the commission praised in the report. However, the visiting team said the shape of the current high school building is inhibiting student learning, as well as low staffing numbers and inadequate supply levels.

“Students at Pelham High School have the opportunity to extend their learning beyond both the normal course offerings and the school campus. Technology equipment and some school resources are sufficient to allow for the implementation of the curriculum; however, adequate classroom space, instructional materials, technology education, classroom supplies, other learning facilities, and staffing levels are insufficient and hinder the implementation of the curriculum,” the Commission on Public Secondary Schools wrote in its report.

The report goes on to praise the school for clearly outlining learning expectations and ensuring students know what those expectations are The commission also applauded teachers, calling them “expert” in their subject matter, for making due with the facilities, having too many students and keeping students engaged in learning despite disruptions from neighboring classrooms and students walking through their classes to get to others.

The building condition and overpopulation of the school “limits effective instruction with constant disruptions from students needing to access classrooms or special education rooms by walking through adjoining classrooms, by noise from classroom discussions and instruction as many classroom walls or partitions go only part way to the ceiling, loud ventilation systems, science labs with small moveable tables with computers on them and limited, if any, access to gas and water, and insufficient electrical outlets,” the report said.

“Pelham High School teachers overcome many challenges presented by the physical environment to effectively employ creative instructional strategies and maintain student engagement,” the commission added.

The report also points out the school was built to accommodate 563 students, and the current enrollment is 705. While the school district has installed portable classrooms to alleviate some of the space issues, the commission said in its report the portables are not properly equipped and supplied.

The portables have also not addressed the structural and space issues still in the school building itself, particularly with the dining area.

“With the increased enrollment, there has been a stronger impact on school environmental issues such as hallway overcrowding, undersized lockers, noise, and the need to monitor air quality and ventilation,” the report said.

The report also pointed out the failure of a bond article at the polls in March that would have allowed the district to build a new high school, saying that plan would have rectified many of the school’s deficiencies.

“An immediate, comprehensive, long-range, facility and capital improvement plan is necessary to ensure that the building supports all aspects of the educational program. By developing and seeking funding for a long-range, comprehensive, facility and capital improvement plan, the Pelham community will be prepared to improve the school facility so that all of the educational needs of the students are met in the short and long-term future,” the report said.

Pelham High School Principal Dorothy Mohr said school administrators were not shocked by the visiting team’s findings on the school facility, as these were issues outlined in their 18-month self-study, the report of which the visiting committee reviewed.

“We certainly knew the issues on our facility, although they hit our facility harder than we had,” said Mohr.

Bass said the school district has two years to submit a time line and plans for what they plan to do to comply with the commission’s 32 recommendations. After that, the commission will send their comments on the plans back to the school district to be acted upon.

Payment shortfall in Pelham may prompt new school lunch policy

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:42:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Pelham School Board is looking at adopting a new policy that would tighten the rules regarding school lunch money owed to the district.

The school district’s food service director, Megan Bizzarro, proposed a draft of the policy to the School Board at a meeting on Wednesday, April 9, which would allow the district to revisit costs associated with food service each year and apply stricter guidelines to help parents stay current with their child’s lunch account.

“No one likes this. I don’t like wearing the collector hat,” Bizzarro said, adding Pelham had about $1,600 owed in lunch accounts as of Monday, April 21.

Students who are not paid up on their lunch account receive alternative lunches, which might include a sandwich instead of the main course being offered that day, Bizzarro said.

Elementary school kids would be allowed to go over on their account by $5 before the account was frozen and the child had to get an alternative lunch. Middle schoolers would be allowed one meal before their accounts were frozen. High school students would not be allowed any overcharges on their account.

“That’s fairly typical of other districts,” said Bizzarro of the high school regulations in the policy, adding high school students have a greater responsibility and often pay for lunch themselves.

Lunch money that is still owed to the district at the end of the school year, Bizzarro said, is covered by the general fund in keeping with federal regulations.

“I know we are in a default budget,” Bizzarro told the board. “This is not something you could necessarily budget for, either.”

She added the shortfall in lunch accounts is not necessarily coming from low-income students and parents.

“The great majority of the money that is owed is from the full-pay category,” Bizzarro said.

She said the Litchfield School District fell into trouble with lunch money owed to the district and sent home bills every day and instituted a point of sale system so parents could pay online if it were more convenient. Currently, the school’s administration sends notices home when accounts become delinquent.

The School Board considered Bizzarro’s presentation the first reading of the policy, which will require at least two more readings and discussion before going into effect.

School Board member Cindy Kyzer asked whether the school district goes after parents for the lunch money the general fund offsets at the end of the year. Business administrator Kathleen Sargent said she was unsure whether the district pursued that money or not.

Kyzer suggested putting the lunch bills in with students’ progress reports and report cards.

Bizzarro said she will soon go before the Windham School Board to propose the policy, and did not want to speak on Windham’s outstanding food service accounts until the board had read and discussed the policy.

School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said Pelham used to have a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Windham in which Windham would help offset some of Pelham’s food service shortfalls, but that has stopped, as Windham also has outstanding lunch money owed, according to Bizzarro.

“In some districts, (school food service) makes money for the district,” Couture said.

New Pelham School Board member ready to help

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:55:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

After moving to Pelham in 1987, Linda Koehler became active in its schools: coaching field hockey, running the booster club at Memorial School and serving on school councils.

Now, she is taking on a new responsibility: being a School Board member.

Koehler, in her first run for public office, was elected to a one-year term on the School Board when voters went to the polls March 11.

That same day, voters rejected a proposed new high school, so Koehler and her board colleagues will now have to figure out how to ease tight space in the schools.

“I’m willing to listen and work with people and see what we need to do to get to the next step,” she said. “I’m not afraid to throw out ideas.”

Koehler and her husband, Fred, have three children: Evan, 20, who is studying film and Asian studies at Temple University and is currently at its Tokyo campus; Ryan, 19, a freshman engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic University; and Emily, 17, a Pelham High School junior.

Koehler didn’t want to run for the School Board while her kids were busy with activities while growing up. But now that they’re older, she felt the time was right. Fred and Emily supported her wish to run this year.

“It was an opportunity that I didn’t want to let go by,” said Koehler, adding that a one-year term would give her the opportunity to learn about the board’s work and decide if she wanted to make a longer commitment.

Koehler grew up Abington, Mass., and earned a bachelor of science degree in occupational therapy from Boston University. She currently helps physically disabled homebound patients for Home Health VNA in Lawrence, Mass.

Leading up to this year’s elections, Koehler was active in Voices for Pelham Education, a group of residents who promoted the School Board’s four-school model, which included the proposed new high school.

“We wanted people to understand why this was a good model for Pelham, instead of just adding on to the high school,” Koehler said. “Just adding on doesn’t solve the whole problem.”

The one-year seat became available when Michael Conrad, citing work and family matters, decided to step down from the School Board. In a three-candidate race, Koehler emerged the winner with 1,445 voters, while Lorraine Dube took 1,290 votes and Joseph Farris garnered 681 votes.

Koehler said both of her opponents opposed the new high school and could have split the “anti-school” vote, enabling her to win. But she also believes her reputation was another factor.

“People know me. I consider myself a doer, try to get things done,” she said. “(When) something needs to be done, I develop a plan and go forth. I’m hoping that’s why people voted for me – to get things done.”

Koehler said she believes the proposed school – which was rejected along with the school district’s operating budget and many other spending requests – failed at the polls because of the softening economy and the big property tax increase that residents were hit with last December.

“I understand that in this economy people are fearful of spending money they feel they don’t have,” Koehler said. “I understand that. It’s just now – how do we move on from here?”

“I don’t have a problem going into the new situation and working with people, trying to solve some of these issues in front of us,” she added. “The hard part is the money. It’s always the money. That’s what it boils down to.”

School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said he’s happy to see Koehler joining the board.

“She a doer, she gets a lot done,” Couture said. “She’s not afraid to ask questions, which is a good thing. She’s an action person, and she’s quite capable of doing (the job) well.”

Koehler said she’s got some learning to do in her new role, including becoming familiar with legal issues and school budgets. She’s nervous and excited.

“It’s something I’ve never done before,” Koehler said. “It’s like going into a new job.”

But she’s committed to doing the best job she can, she said. She welcomes residents to bring their concerns to her and one of her goals is to improve communication between the School Board and residents. Her work in the schools, she said, will help her in her new role.

“I think I have a pulse on what’s going on, being in the schools, seeing the kids,” said Koehler. “I know the teachers, I know the administrators. I feel they know me.”

Recount leaves Pelham School Board roster unchanged

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:50:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Pelham officials recounted more than 3,500 votes for the School Board election after the losing candidate called for a recount, citing ballot machine failures throughout voting on Tuesday, March 11.

It took about two hours to count all those votes again Tuesday, March 18, according to School District Moderator Ken Dunne, but when it was all said and done, the spread between the two candidates was actually six votes more than what the School District recorded the first time around, in favor of incumbent Linda Mahoney.

At the polls, Pelham voters elected Mahoney by a slim margin of 46 votes, with Perry receiving a total of 1,746 votes and Mahoney getting 1,792.

Perry, who served one term on the Pelham School Board from 2001 to 2004, said the 1 percent difference in the voting totals between him and Mahoney, combined with what he thought were mistakes made by the machine, amounted to a need to recount all the votes.

“The machine did have several points during the day when it was down,” Perry said.

Pelham School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said the board canceled its Thursday, March 13, meeting because of the recount.

“It probably won’t change the outcome, but it is close enough to warrant it,” Couture said prior to the recount.

At the end of the recount, Mahoney won with 1,804 votes over Perry’s 1,753 votes, this time a 51 vote spread.

Prior to the recount, Mahoney said she was anxious to get back to business on the board and was not offended that Perry had asked for the recount. But she said if she had been in Perry’s shoes, she would have forgone the recount.

“It’s his right to ask for a recount,” she said. “I would certainly hope that we don’t have a 50-vote margin of error,” she said, referring to the town’s original ballot count.

Perry said he ran against Mahoney because he was unsatisfied with where the board has been going, and became a contender so Pelham voters could make the decision.

“I wanted to give the town a choice,” Perry said.

Mahoney was sworn into her School Board seat immediately following the recount.

“I’m happy it’s done, and I’m looking forward to getting back to work on the board,” Mahoney said.

Dunne disagreed with Perry’s assessment that the ballot machine was not functioning right, and said the discrepancies could have come from people not inserting their ballots correctly. The machine kicks them back if that happens, making it appear that it’s not working properly, he said. There was also a recount last year for the open School Board seat, which Lorraine Dube and Cindy Kyzer vied for. The recount ended with Kyzer winning the position.

Superintendent to stay on job

Salem Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:33:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Frank Bass is going to stay on as superintendent of schools in Pelham and Windham after apparently working out problems with two School Board members.

Bass had applied to become Manchester’s school superintendent just seven months after coming to SAU 28, the Windham and Pelham school districts. His move prompted Al Letizio Jr., chairman of the Windham School Board, to accuse two of his colleagues, Barbara Coish and Beverly Donovan, of creating a hostile work environment for Bass.

“They made it very unpleasant for him,” he said. After he put out word that Coish and Donovan should resign from the school board, Letizio said, Bass received an outpouring of support from the public and the two women individually approached the superintendent in a conciliatory manner, ironed out their problems and agreed to change their behavior.

At a Thursday, Feb. 7, meeting of the SAU 28 School Board, made up of the School Board members of both communities, Bass announced that he had resolved matters with Coish and Donovan and would stay on the job.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Pelham’s Cindy Kyzer, chairman of the SAU 28 School Board. “I think he’s doing a good job. He has a good vision for the district, and works hard.

Bruce Couture, chairman of the Pelham School Board, said he, too, is glad Bass wants to keep working in the two towns. Couture said previously that problems in Windham can adversely affect the Pelham district.

“They worked a lot of things out, and that meant a lot to both boards,” he said.

Although Letizio had said publicly that Coish and Donovan should step down, he never called on them at a meeting to do so. But they knew he was prepared to do it, Letizio said.

“It was a diplomatic effort to get it resolved,” Letizio said. “I agreed to not call for their resignations in exchange for them to change their behavior. It ended with a peaceful resolution.”

Coish said she had a “very nice” conversation with Bass last week in his office about working together. But she said she doubts that conversation had much of an influence on his decision to stay.

Candidates for selectmen, School Board face contested race for seats

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:07:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Two men appointed to the Pelham Board of Selectmen last year to fill vacancies are among the three candidates seeking to win election to the board in March.

Two three-year seats are available. Alfio Torrisi, who made an unsuccessful run for the board last year, is making another attempt.

The other candidates are Douglas Viger, who was appointed to the board in June when Thomas Domenico moved out of town and William McDevitt, a former selectman who returned to the board in November after Ed Gleason resigned.

Viger made a strong third place finish last year, when two seats were up and five candidates made bids.

The only other contested race on the town ballot is for two cemetery trustee positions. Three candidates are running. They are Richard W. Jensen, Timothy Zelonis and Edwin Baker.

One-, two- and three-year terms for trustee of trust funds were available but no one signed up to run for them.

Other candidates are:

Philip R. Currier, moderator, two years; Charlene F. Takesian, treasurer, three years; Kim L. Boland, supervisor of the checklist, three years; Angele Diack, Daniel Guimond and Robert S. Sherman, Budget Committee, three three-year seats; Douglas H. Fyffe, Ann Susan Snide, library trustee, two for three years; and Jason Croteau and Paul Dadak, Planning Board, two seats for three years.

The school district ballot features contests for two seats on the school board.

Incumbent Linda Mahoney is being challenged by former School Board member Raymond P. Perry for a three-year seat.

Mahoney is seeking her second term. Perry served on the board from 2001-04.

A one-year seat on the board is available because Michael Conrad, who was reelected to a three-year term in 2006, is leaving the board a year early. He cited a new job and family matters as reasons for stepping down.

Three candidates are running: Joseph Farris, Linda Koehler, and Lorraine Dube, who almost won a seat last year when she made her second bid for the board.

Other school district candidates include: Patricia Murphy who filed to run for clerk; Kenneth Dunne, who is running for moderator; and Patricia Murphy, who is running for treasurer. Those are three-year positions.

The polls will be open at Pelham High School from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.

New high school tops warrants at deliberative session

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:59:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Some big ticket items are on the Pelham School District ballot this year, and voters will get a chance to weigh in on them, and other warrant articles, at the district’s deliberative session.

Voters will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 6, starting at 7 p.m., at Pelham Elementary School.

Three of the most expensive warrant articles being recommended by the School Board deal with Pelham High School – purchasing land for a new school, constructing the building and adding an auditorium to it.

A $3 million bond article would authorize the school district to buy two parcels of land, totaling approximately 48 acres, off Windham Road on which to build the new school. The district has signed a purchase and sale agreement with the landowners.

The construction and original equipping of the new high school is being proposed in a $44,665,000 bond warrant article. Of that amount, $41,411,000 is for the high school project, while $3,254,000 is to renovate the current high school into a school for grades 7 and 8.

A $3,116,000 bond article would fund the addition of an auditorium at the new high school.

All three bond articles require a 60 percent majority to pass when voters go to the polls on Tuesday, March 11. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the high school.

Passage of the school construction and renovation article is contingent upon the land purchase being approved. Likewise, passage of the auditorium article is contingent upon the new school being approved.

The Budget Committee is recommending that the land be purchased, but it is opposed to the new buildings.

The land and auditorium would each be financed with a five-year bond, while the new school and renovations would be paid for with a 25-year bond.

The school district has estimated that the highest tax impacts per $1,000 of assessed property valuation are 32 cents for the land, $2.12 for the school and renovations and 33 cents for the auditorium.

Officials believe that if voters approve the project in March, the new school would be completed by September 2010.

The school district’s proposed 2008-09 operating budget is $24,165,115. If the budget is rejected by voters in March, a default budget of $23,768,163 – the current budget plus certain adjustments – goes into effect.

Other warrants

Almost all of the other warrant articles seek to add new staff positions, increase pay for workers, upgrade technology or make capital improvements, as requested by the School Board. These include:

• $48,851 to give nonunion workers a 3 percent salary increase.

• $64,450 for the salary and benefits of a special education teacher/case manager to support students with disabilities at the high school.

• $64,450 for the salary and benefits of a health/physical education teacher to support the health curriculum and the elementary school.

• $12,382 for a part-time custodian at the elementary school.

• $64,450 for salary and benefits to add a sixth-grade teacher at Memorial School.

• $32,225 to add a business teacher at the high school.

• $64,450 for salary and benefits to add a social studies teacher at the high school.

• $53,991 to continue providing child-benefit services to St. Patrick School.

• $183,333 to fund the third year of the school district’s technology plan.

• $140,000 to replace the parking lot and add additional parking spaces at Memorial School.

• Add $50,000 to the district’s maintenance capital reserve fund

The Budget Committee is not recommending the new social studies teacher, part-time custodian, special education manager and parking lot improvements.

School drug search policy may be revised

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:44:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The School Board may revise its policy on drug searches in Pelham schools after concerns were raised about the magnitude of the searches and disruptions caused to students.

During the board’s Wednesday, Jan. 16 meeting, School Board member Linda Mahoney cited the large number of law enforcement agencies that were used when a search was carried out in April at the high school and middle school.

“A little overkill and it wasn’t for anything they found specific,” Mahoney said. “It was scary for these kids. These kids didn’t know what was going on. And that’s what I don’t want to see happen again. It seems like we’re treating our kids guilty until proven innocent.”

Fourteen agencies, including the Pelham Police Department, carried out the searches. A bottle of vodka was found in the car of a 17-year-old boy who allowed administrators to search his car, and marijuana was discovered in the car of a 16-year-old boy after his father permitted a search.

The high school’s fire alarm sounded before the search began, sending students and employees outside.

Drugs searches are typically conducted every year in which dogs “hit” on places where drugs may be located.

Administrators have the right to search lockers. If a dog hits on a car, administrators ask the student for consent to search the vehicle. If the student or car owner refuses to give consent, the matter is turned over to police, according to Dorothy Mohr, school principal.

Dogs are not used to search students.

Mahoney said she is not blind that drugs may be in the high school but said other alternatives that provide a deterrence should be considered, such as having a police officer walk by lockers with a dog once a month.

Student representative Scott Cloutier said once the April search began, no one was concentrating on their school work that day. Instead, they were concentrating on the dogs they could see being used in the parking lot and were worrying if any of their belongings inside the school had been touched.

“To that magnitude, it was an interruption,” he said.

School Board member Eleanor Burton spoke in defense of the searches.

“I don’t think it hurts in this day and age,” she said. “I think we have to protect all the students. If it’s there, we need to find it. I don’t think it hurts to do it once in a while.”

School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said he believes several dogs are used to make the searches go quicker and because there’s a limit to how long each animal is effective.

“I see both sides of the argument, but I certainly think we should always keep ourselves open,” Couture said. “If something is brewing and they know about it and need that force to do it, then I think we should give ourselves that flexibility.”

Superintendent Frank Bass said he and Roxanne Wilson, the assistant superintendent, will review the policy and try to craft a proposed change that would address the concerns they heard during the meeting.

Selectmen slash budget back to 2004 levels

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:52:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

Trustees have cut back the Pelham Library’s weekly operating hours by eight hours following a cut to the library’s budget in the town’s proposed 2008 operating budget.

The library is now opening at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. on weekdays. And instead of staying open until 8 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, it will remain open until 8 p.m. only on Tuesdays.

The library is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays. The new hours went into effect Jan. 2.

The reduction from 50 hours to 42 hours a week, Library Director Sue Hoadley said, is necessary because the library’s 2007 spending was cut 5 percent in the new budget.

The library’s 2007 budget is $228,756. Trustees asked for $245,308 for 2008. Instead, Hoadley said, the Budget Committee cut that to $216,978.

The reduction puts the library’s spending where it was in 2004.

“They went backwards,” Hoadley said. “We’re now funded at the 2004 level. That’s how far back we’ve gone.”

Committee members suggested that a 40-hour-a-week adult services position be scaled back to 20 hours, she said.

The woman who held the position retired at the end of August. A replacement, Robin Murphy, was hired in November, but she resigned about six weeks later after most full-time salaries were reduced by close to 5 percent.

There are a few opportunities for trustees to get money restored in their 2008 budget. They can ask the Budget Committee to reverse its position during a Tuesday, Jan. 15, budget reconsideration hearing.

If that fails, they can ask voters to restore the money during the town’s Tuesday, Feb. 5, deliberative session.

Should the town’s proposed operating budget be rejected by voters at the polls in March, the town would operate under a default budget and the library’s spending would be at its 2007 level.

In 2007, patrons checked out 83,824 books, videos, magazines and audio books. Circulation has been on the rise: 74,076 in 2006, 69,924 in 2005 and 57,135 in 2004.

“This is a big jump,” Hoadley said. “The numbers keep going up every year, but our staffing has remained the same the last four years.”

John Lavallee, the Budget Committee chairman, said many town departments took a hit in their new budgets.

“She’s very efficient, a very good librarian,” Lavallee said. “She can find a way to make it work. That’s not a lot of money.”

Many taxpayers are angry about the higher tax bills they received last month, he said, and in March they will face many spending requests, including a proposed new central fire station, high school and police union contract.

“It’s going to be a tough year,” Lavallee said.

Budget Committee gives recommendations to school warrants

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:25:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The Pelham Budget Committee voted to support the $3 million purchase of approximately 48 acres for a new high school.

But the panel voted against recommending the construction of the new school and an auditorium.

The nine members attending the committee’s Thursday, Dec. 13, meeting voted unanimously to support the land purchase.

The School Board is putting forward a warrant article at the school district meeting in March to purchase the land, which consists of two parcels off Windham Road.

The purchase, which would be paid for with a five-year bond, needs a 60 percent majority to pass.

The committee voted 5-4 to not recommend a $44,665,000 article to construct the new school and to renovate the current high school into a middle school.

The group also voted 5-4 to not recommend a $3,116,000 article for an auditorium for the new high school.

Voting against those two articles were committee chairman John Lavallee, Dennis Viger, Robert Sherman, Dan Guimond and Martha Lowe.

Voting to support them were Doug Viger, the Board of Selectmen representative to the committee, Larry Hall, Joe Puddister and Bruce Couture, who was acting as the School Board’s representative to the committee.

Members Phil McColgan and Greg Farris were not present.

“The land is important. We have to have the land. That’s a valuable asset,” Lavallee said after the meeting.

But Lavallee said he believes the town is better off waiting a year to pursue a new high school. He cited the recent 13 percent increase in the town’s property tax rate, which rose from $13.99 to $15.81 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

In March, voters will see a variety of spending requests in addition to the proposed land purchase, school and auditorium, he said. These will include $4.3 million for a new central fire station, a police union contract, a contract for public works and municipal workers, and requests for more teachers and another police officer.

“I want a new high school in this town. I think we need one but I think it needs to be done next year when things calm down,” Lavallee said. “Everything is raining down on us at one time.”

Lavallee said he also wants to see more details on the new school.

“Let us see what we’re really going to get,” he said.

Couture said he was pleased with the committee’s support of the land purchase. The School

Board has been pursuing a four-school model to alleviate overcrowding.

“I think it reflects what most people realize – (there’s) a space problem (in the schools) and the land is the cornerstone stone of the whole project,” he said of the vote on the land.

On the committee’s votes on the school and auditorium, he added: “I’m disappointed obviously. I think, as an overall plan, you want to get the building (approved) the first year. I understand the hesitancy because of the tax bill that was received, but it’s a project that will only get more expensive every year.”

Study committee formation will be on the ballot

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:08:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The Windham and Pelham school districts share employees, resources and costs by belonging to School Administrative Unit 28.

But beginning in March, Windham voters might start the process of pulling their community out of the SAU.

A warrant article on the Windham school district ballot, if passed, would create a planning committee to study the impacts on each town if Windham were to eventually pull out.

“It’s coming to the point that if each had a superintendent for its own district, it would be beneficial,” said Windham School Board member Bruce Anderson.

Although it’s been cost effective for the two districts to share resources, both districts are growing, Anderson said.

Each community is pursuing high school projects. Windham, which currently sends its students to Salem High, is opening its own high school in 2009, while Pelham officials will be asking voters in March to buy land and construct a new high school in their town.

In the past few years, Anderson noted, School Board members made efforts to ease the heavy workload on its staff by bringing on an assistant superintendent in 2005 and giving each district its own business administrator this year.

Anderson acknowledged that Pelham might feel the greater impact if Windham withdraws from the SAU because its office is in a Windham-owned building. Pelham officials would have to find space to place its own SAU staff.

“It’s not spiting anyone,” said Anderson, who initiated the study committee warrant article during an early December Windham board meeting. “It’s what we think is best for both districts.”

The SAU has about a dozen employees, including Superintendent Frank Bass. Beginning in July it will have an annual budget of roughly $1,207,375.

Pelham’s contribution will be $601,199 while Windham will pay $606,176.

How much money each town contributes is based on its equalized property valuation and its number of students.

The communities also share the cost of preschool services.

In past SAU meetings, the subject of splitting up the SAU has been discussed by School Board members.

Eleanor Burton, a Pelham School Board member, said that during a semiannual SAU meeting in October, School Board members from both towns agreed to hold off on putting any warrant articles on their ballots in March and would revisit the issue at their next meeting in May.

Some of her Pelham board colleagues, she said, were unhappy that Windham members later decided to put a warrant article for a planning committee on their district’s March ballot.

“They thought it was unfortunate it was brought up before we met again,” Burton said.

Conrad to step down from School Board

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:46:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

One of the biggest proponents of a new high school in Pelham is leaving the School Board.

Michael Conrad, 42, will depart from the board in March, one year before his current term is to expire.

In his letter of resignation to School Board Chairman Bruce Couture, Conrad cited a new job, freelance writing work and the desire to spend more time with his family as reasons for stepping down.

“After many long discussions with my family, I have to do what is right for myself and my family,” he wrote.

Conrad was elected to the school board in 2003 and re-elected in 2006. During his tenure, he was a proponent of Pelham partnering with Windham to build a cooperative high school, a plan that was twice voted down in his town, and currently supports the construction of a new high school in Pelham.

Prior to joining the board, he served two years as president of Pelham Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association.

He and his wife, Kathleen, have two children, Steven, 13, and Christina, 10.

“In the past five years, there’s been a lot of time taken from them,” Conrad said.

Conrad recently began working as a business development sales manager for HelloDirect, a developer and marketer of desktop telephony products in Nashua.

He also writes a column, “Gotta Have Gadgets,” for West Coast Golfer magazine.

“It’s harder and harder to find time to dedicate to School bBoard matters,” he said. “If I can’t give 100 percent, I’m not going to do it.”

By notifying the board that he’s stepping down in March, a one-year board position can be put on the school district ballot. Linda Mahoney’s seat is also up in 2008.

“Well, I think it’s too bad,” said School Board member Eleanor Burton about Conrad’s departure. “But with his work, he feels he can’t devote the time to it.”

Conrad said one of the things he liked most about his time on the board was starting the Board Buddies program with then-Superintendent Elaine Cutler. The buddies are students who shared stories about their school work with board members.

“That was the best part of the meetings,” he said.