Salem Observer : Salem, schools

Salem's private kindergartens get ready to regroup

Salem Editor — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:18:00 GMT

Private kindergartens are quietly adjusting for what many see as a significant future drop in their enrollment when state-mandated public kindergartens begin next autumn.

For some private kindergartens, that will mean gearing toward enrolling younger children, for others it may mean downsizing existing programs.

“We’re preparing to take younger children. We’ll take ones younger (than kindergarten), like toddlers,” said Karen Tate, owner of the Create and Discover Learning Center. “Our numbers will drop dramatically. We’ll probably lose about 80 children, which is usually what our kindergarten enrollment is.”

In previous years, kindergarten students at the Salem Christian School have been divided up into two classes with one teacher. This year the students have been put into one class together with an aide. The measure – which will force the school to take less than the usual enrollment of 30 children – comes as a way to keep the school from laying off teachers if the enrollment drops dramatically, according to Tony Long, school principal.

“We’ve been anticipating it for the last two or three years here. We’re fairly well prepared for it,” Long said. “Next year we won’t have to lay off a teacher if enrollment is much lower than it is now. If it doesn’t affect us next year we can reverse that.”

While the Salem Christian School has a strong, 30-year-long relationship with the neighborhood and the community, Long expects kindergarten enrollment to be much lower next year. On average, between a half and three-quarters of all kindergarten students end up transferring to a different school for first grade – a number that Long also estimates will rise in the future.

Despite the probable impact public kindergarten will have on the enrollment numbers of his own school, Long was positive about the 2007 legislation making kindergarten part of the state’s definition of an adequate education.

“I think its a good thing that New Hampshire is finally getting public school kindergarten. It is the only state in the union that has this situation left,” he said. “Of course, because we emphasize Christian values, we would like to have as many students as we could to reflect our philosophy or core values.”

For Tate, the potential for the adverse effects of the legislation will be offset by the benefits to parents and children across the state.

“I think this is a step forward. Every child has the opportunity to attend kindergarten,” she said. “It will impact us negatively, but we need to address that and realize that its best for all the children to get that opportunity.”

Tate said her program would adjust the hours of service depending on whether Salem opted for a full-time or part-time public kindergarten. If Salem moves for a half-day kindergarten, she may be able to tap into the population of parents who work full-time.

At the Littleville Learning Center owner, director and kindergarten teacher Laura Devine said she expects to lose most, if not all, of her 20 or so kindergarten students when the school district begins the public program next year.

“Definitely, it will impact my program,” she said. “I’m very sad. I was hoping they would do vouchers or something for the kindergartens in the area.”

While Salem is leaning toward installing state-funded portable classrooms at each of the six elementary schools to free up space to house the new kindergarten classes, other state funded options included contracting out to private kindergartens in the area for the first three years of the transition.

Devine said that she had begun programs for younger children, like toddlers and infants, but that since her current facility is not equipped for children of that age, she would likely have to move in the future.

She also pointed toward the impact the new public kindergartens – slated to open in the fall of 2009 – will have on the tax rate in Salem. It is a concern that has kept Salem from offering kindergarten classes before and it is one that may have an effect on whether or not the town does adopt the program by the state’s deadline of September 2009, according to Superintendent Michael Delahanty.

“As a Salem resident I’m more concerned about my taxes going up as well,” she said. “It’s not going to be free, and everybody’s taxes are going up.”

Salem may use portables for kindergarten

Salem Editor — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:14:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Under the gun to put in place a public kindergarten by September of next year, School Board members are leaning toward accepting the state’s offer of leasing portable classrooms.

“In order to have something in place by next fall, it appears right now that the board is going to pursue an option to take advantage of the state’s option to pay the cost of leasing temporary classrooms,” said Superintendent Michael Delahunty. “We have a group of people looking at a long-term solution for kindergarten, whether that is renovations and additions to existing schools or some other options. The notion is to use the temporary classrooms for the length of time necessary and within a few years have some more permanent solution.”

The School District’s director of maintenance has surveyed each of the town’s six elementary schools to pinpoint locations for the temporary classrooms, Delahunty said. Over the course of the next few months, officials will begin making plans to ensure the classrooms will be hooked up to the proper utilities.

Leasing portable classrooms to make space available in Salem’s six elementary schools for the influx of new students is just one of several state funded options available to Salem and the other 12 communities – including nearby Windham and Pelham – without public kindergartens state-wide.

The state has also offered to paying the construction costs of a new state-approved school design and 75 percent of the price tag for a custom-designed school. Communities also have the option of contracting with private kindergartens for up to three years as they arrange for their own publicly funded program.

Funding from the state will also cover the first-year operating costs of a new kindergarten program.

In return, the towns not planning on opening a kindergarten by this September – the date set in the original state legislation before the one year extension was granted last month – must have a plan to do so into the state Board of Education by Dec. 1 of this year.

Public support for the new state-mandated kindergarten is mixed, Delahunty said, but he remains optimistic that Salem will have a kindergarten by September of 2009.

“Parents of children coming to 5 years of age are very supportive. The people who tend to be unsupportive are those who have already had their children go through the system and feel that they don’t have an obligation to provide a kindergarten now that the community did not provide then,” he said. “I believe the community is ready to support a public kindergarten. I think having some temporary classrooms paid for by the state and then operating costs paid by the state for the first several years will help minimize the costs and make the community ready.”

Peter Morgan, a member of the School Board, has found public support for a kindergarten as long as the state lends a helping financial hand. The prohibitive cost of beginning a kindergarten program has kept the town’s taxpayers from moving in that direction in the past.

“There are some very motivated people who would like to see kindergarten, but since property tax funds everything, implementing a kindergarten (is) an expensive proposition,” Morgan said. “No one denies that kindergarten is a good thing. Everyone believes kindergarten is a good thing.”

Legislation amending the state’s definition of an adequate public education to include the kindergarten level of schooling came in 2007. For 20 years, New Hampshire had been the only state in the country not to do so, according to Helen Schotanus, curriculum supervisor at the state Board of Education.

“Everywhere else it’s obvious that kids who attend kindergarten do better than kids who don’t. Children who attend public kindergarten do better than kids in private kindergartens,” said Schotanus, who has been an advocate of mandatory publicly funded kindergartens on the state board. “(It is) to do better by our young children. A good kindergarten is a foundation. It is so obvious that kids do better when they have a good kindergarten to go into.”

While the legislation does not specify a consequence for failing to implement a publicly funded kindergarten, Schotanus said the towns that chose not to do so would have to answer to the board.

“At some point, the community will decide whether it wants publicly funded kindergarten and if people understand the value of formal and public education ... then they’ll agree it’s time the community provided that,” Delahunty said. “Having a program for 5-year-olds is beneficial to the community as a whole.”

N.H. gives towns another year to start kindergarten

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:37:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

School officials for Salem, Pelham and Windham schools are breathing a sigh of relief now that the state has agreed to extend the deadline for instituting public kindergarten.

In its definition of an adequate education, the state Legislature included public kindergarten as a requirement.

Since then, 12 communities throughout the state currently without kindergarten have been scrambling to find funding, space and project enrollment and costs to establish kindergarten programs by September 2008.

That deadline has now been extended to 2009, a timeline that seems much more attainable, said Salem Superintendent Michael Delahunty.

The state has also included several funding options in their newest plan, something the 12 towns had been asking for, many of them calling the original kindergarten bill an unfunded mandate.

“I think the Legislature just understood the impracticality of expecting school districts without kindergarten to have something in place by the fall of 2008,” Delahunty said.

He added that the final kindergarten legislation – including acceptable funding options – was not complete until most of the towns had completed their budget processes.

“It will give us the chance to prepare a budget that includes the costs associated with implementing public kindergarten,” Delahunty said, including budgeting for supplies and other operating costs.

While the state will not help towns purchase land for kindergarten facilities, they have offered other funding options, including paying for portable classrooms for four years, paying 75 percent of the building costs for a custom school and footing the bill for all of the building costs for a state-approved school design. The state has also agreed to pay operating costs for kindergarten for the first year.

The state has also offered towns the option of being able to contract with private kindergartens for up to three years while they get their own public programs going.

Towns who have not begun a kindergarten for September 2008 have to submit a plan to the state by December outlining their plans to put the program in place.

“I think we’re very appreciative of the House-Senate bill’s change in its format and in its language because it gives us a little more time and a little more leeway,” said Frank Bass, superintendent of Pelham and Windham schools.

Bass said the Pelham and Windham school boards have not made any hard decisions on which avenues to take in terms of funding and facilities, but said those discussions will happen soon.

Delahunty said the Salem School Board is leaning toward installing portable classrooms on existing school grounds, similar to what is now being used at the high school, only the kindergarten portables would be a little smaller.

Bass and Delahunty were both adamantly against the state forcing public kindergarten on towns without providing the funding for it and on such short notice.

The nine other towns currently without public kindergarten are Hudson, Auburn, Mason, Lyndeborough, Mascenic Regional, Milford, Derry, Litchfield and Chester.

School districts may get reprieve on kindergarten deadline

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:11:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

A legislative committee has voted to recommend giving 11 school districts a one-year extension to start a public kindergarten program in their communities.

That’s welcome news to school officials in Salem, Windham and Pelham – three towns that don’t offer kindergarten and were each faced with a September 2008 deadline to start one.

“We’re all for kindergarten; that’s not the point,” said Roxanne Wilson, the assistant school superintendent for Windham and Pelham. “It’s where are we going to put kindergarten?”

Earlier this year, the New Hampshire Legislature included kindergarten in a definition of an adequate education and gave school districts until the fall of 2008 to offer a half-day program.

Recently, a joint House-Senate panel voted to recommend allowing a one-year extension.

Committee members also supported giving incentives to the school districts: full funding for up to three years to lease and set up portable classrooms; 75 percent in state construction aid; and providing adequacy aid.

The state has estimated that it would cost $305,770 to build and $17,000 to furnish and equip one kindergarten classroom in 2009 and has estimated the cost to prepare a site, and install and lease one portable unit with two portable classrooms for three years beginning in 2008 at $80,000.

A state education official who visited school districts determined that five kindergarten classrooms are required in Pelham and six are needed in Windham.

School Board members in Pelham and Windham decided against putting a kindergarten warrant article on their 2008 ballots.

Bruce Couture, the Pelham board’s chairman, said he and his colleagues believe that if the state mandates a program, it should fund it.

“We’re glad,” he said of the possible extension, which still must be approved by the full Legislature. “We’re not looking for a fight. We have other issues to deal with. We have space problems and we don’t want to compound it by having kindergarten shoved down our throats.”

In Salem, 10 to 14 classrooms would be needed for a kindergarten program, said Superintendent Michael Delahanty.

The number would depend on student enrollment and class size. Ideally, there would be no more than 15 students in a class, he said.

An 80 percent participation rate would mean that 280 students would need to be accommodated, he said.

A kindergarten program could entail other costs, such as bus transportation and additional staffing in addition to kindergarten teachers, Delahanty said.

The possible extension is welcome news, he said, because a program launched in 2008 would have been a slipshod one.

It would have been unfair to the students because it would have been rushed and unfair to the community because it wasn’t well planned, Delahanty said.

By this time next year, he said, he hopes state aid is better defined.

“When we do it, it needs to be done right,” Delahanty said.

Even if the one-year extension is approved, school districts would have to submit a plan of action to the state.

Wilson said that one of the issues that the Pelham and Windham school districts face is its growing preschool services.

The joint program, which serves about 90 children, is outgrowing its facilities. Allowing officials to put off kindergarten until 2009 allows the districts to plan for preschool and kindergarten at the same time, rather than take a piecemeal approach, Wilson said.

Grandparents go back to school in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:52:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Sitting behind his grandson, 7-year-old Parker Webb, Enio DiPietro watched the boy work on a sheet about telling time.

Later, DiPietro shared with Parker’s second-grade class and other guests in the room that he and his grandson enjoy cooking together.

It was part of “Grandparents Day – 2007” at Barron School in Salem.

During the morning of Thursday, Sept. 27, students in grades 1 through 5 welcomed their grandparents to their classrooms. It’s an annual event at the school.

“It’s so meaningful to the grandparents to spend some quality time here,” said Principal Anthony DiNardo, adding that the event allows them to see some of the positive things going on inside the school.

Janice Laliberte of Salem came to visit her 7-year-old son, Zachary. He had called her the previous Monday night and invited her to come.

“It was so cute,” Laliberte recalled as she waited for school to start.

Ned and Sylvia Leone came from Methuen, Mass., to see two of their grandchildren, John Leone, a fourth-grader, and Lucia Leone, who is in second grade.

“When they see us, they light up,” Sylvia said.

In teacher Kathy Gibney’s classroom, where Parker is a student, the grandparents got a look at their grandchildren’s school work.

“Kids, you can take some books out of your desk and show your grandparents what kind of math we do,” Gibney told her class.

A few minutes earlier, the students asked the grandparents what school was like when they were children.

Some of the answers seemed to surprise them. They didn’t use backpacks, the grandparents told them, and
many of them did not eat at school but instead went home for lunch.

Ryan Quinlan wanted to know if the grandparents rode a bus to school. Many replied that they walked instead.

What games did they like to play, another student asked. Jump rope and hopscotch were popular, they were told.

What did the grandparents learn in school when they were kids? The answers: the usual subjects like math and spelling, but also how to listen and how to behave.

The grandparents were also invited to talk about a particular hobby they enjoyed.

Mary Ann Manning of Salem told the class that she and grandson Joshua Manning, 7, have fun painting together. She likes to use watercolors and acrylics.

Manning showed two paintings and said another painting hangs in the dining room at Joshua’s home.

Later, as DiPietro, and his wife, Dorothy, left the school, they carried homemade cards that Parker had made for them.

“I love you so much, I am so happy you came,” their grandson had written in each card.

Salem High gym size cut; saves $1 million

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:44:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

A proposed plan to build a new athletics facility at Salem High School has been cut back, reducing the size and cost of the project.

At a recent meeting, the school district’s Facilities Committee decided to reduce the size of the facility from 75,000 square feet to 64,000 square feet.

The facility is part of a massive high school renovation project that will cost about $40 million. Voters will be presented with a $2.4 million bond article in March that, if passed, will cover the cost of drafting blueprints and securing the services of Frank P. Marinace Architecture.

Though cost estimates were not thoroughly discussed at the meeting, committee members said the larger facility would have cost about $1 million more.

The committee decided after several hours of debate that the smaller building might stand a better chance of winning voter approval.

The group consented to the cutback, but some said the smaller facility might not cover the needs of the district’s athletic programs and community events.

Still, Superintendent Michael Delahanty said the new building will provide adequate space for all who want to use it.

Throughout the planning stage for the new facility, Delahanty has stressed the importance of community use and accessibility.

“We’re not building this facility so we have less availability for programs,” he said. “In fact, we expect we’ll be able to accommodate more programs.”

The 64,000-square-foot building will feature three regulation-sized basketball courts, an indoor running track, a mini-gym downstairs with a padded floor for gymnastics, a weight room, locker rooms and a training room.

Early plans for the facility call for a catwalk connecting it to the main high school building.

Though 64,000 square feet might sound like a lot of space, and some residents have been critical of the district’s high-cost project, Delahanty said figures can be deceiving.

“We’re gaining space, but it’s not as much as people believe it is,” he said. “People think a 64,000-square-foot facility is grand and that we’re building a palace, but the floor space for athletics is really close to what we have now.”

Delahanty said he’s pleased with how the project is coming along, but there’s still the daunting task of selling the idea to voters.

“I think we still have a long road ahead of us in terms of convincing citizens that this is a good plan and a good idea,” he said. “But this building will allow us to meet all of the need we have with athletics, academics, security, and wear and tear.”

By designating all athletics to the new building, there will be more room for classrooms and an overhaul of the main building can be completed.

Under the new design, the school’s main entrance and administrative offices would switch places with the current library, which faces Geremonty Drive. Science rooms and the auditorium will also be expanded.

The committee is set to meet again on Sept. 10 to discuss more details of the plan and how to convince voters.

If the district’s bond article of approximately $39 million is approved by voters, taxpayers could expect to see bills rise by 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. A home valued at $300,000 would see a $200 jump in their bill per year.

If passed, construction could begin as early as 2009 and be completed by the fall of 2011.

Committee member Roland Maher said he’s optimistic about the project, but he realizes that bond articles are hard to pass in Salem.

“We’ll need 60 percent of the community support and unfortunately not much has passed in Salem in the past few years,” he said. “It’s going to be a major hurdle for us.”

Group touts school fixes

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:59:00 GMT

BY CHRISTINE HEISER

Though the price tag attached to proposed renovations to Salem High School has astonished some residents, others are working together to get the word out that the fixes are necessary.

The newly formed Salem High School Renovation Committee is applying for nonprofit status, and Salem residents taking part want others to join them to help inform the public.

“We want people to see not just screaming headlines saying ‘$40 million’ but what would be done to improve the school,” said Tim Bosch, who has just signed up for the new committee.

“Our main goal is to make sure that everyone in Salem understands the needs of the high school, the deficiencies of it, and that the recommendations that the Facilities Committee made are the most cost-effective way to handle it,” he said.

The school district’s Facilities Committee has proposed a $40 million fix for the high school, including a 75,000-square-foot free-standing athletics facility, along with moving the main entrance of the school and making improvements to the library, science rooms and other classrooms.

The advocacy group will meet for the first time in August, said Bosch, and will plan a strategy to convince voters to pay for the needed renovations.

The committee may produce a Web site and a video presentation on Salem Community Televsion, and, as the election approaches, make presentations to small groups of residents, as well as to PTA and civic groups in town.

Addressing the athletic center Bosch said one of the most important things the group wants to get across to voters is that the proposed athletic facility, which some detractors have said is the district’s focus, is really a by-product of other school needs.

School Superintendent Michael Delahanty said the first aspect the district and the Facilities Needs Committee worked on was making the building safe, both to protect students and provide a sense of security for parents sending their children there.

A new entrance at the front of the school on Geremonty Drive is planned.

That, in turn, made changes to the rest of the building necessary, he said. The renovations would create more and better spaces for the science, music, art and special education programs, some of which operate in substandard areas.

“The evolution of our thinking resulted in a free-standing athletic center,” he said.

The center, along with the other improvements, would add to security and save wear and tear on the building, he said.

Currently, the track team is using the halls to run in, and youth sports groups using the building have to travel through the current entrance all the way through the building to the gyms.

Bosch, whose children have all graduated from Salem High, said he signed up for the new group because he’s a concerned citizen who believes the renovations are important to the town.

“Anyone who’s had kids in the school can see that the school has served us well, but it needs work.”

Contact information for the group will be forthcoming in the next several weeks.

Trimming back – $40 million high school plan may be changed to save money

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:03:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

Only a month after Salem school officials announced their $40 million high school renovation plan, they’re already considering scaling it back.

Members of the Budget Committee and the Board of Selectmen recently had their first official look at the plan to overhaul the 40-year-old school.

Superintendent Michael Delahanty said both groups were concerned with the price tag. They expressed concern that voters wouldn’t support the project.

This criticism will be discussed by members of the Facilities Committee when the group meets on July 16. Delahanty said the group will consider making some changes to the preliminary plan.

“I think we need to have a serious discussion,” Delahanty said. “If (the Facilities Committee) comes up with a different recommendation, I think we should consider it.”

Currently, the renovation plan proposes some major changes to the school, which Delahanty hopes will make it last another 40 years.

There are several proposed changes to the school, the largest of which is a new 75,000-square-foot athletic facility to be built close to the school’s existing running track.

The large building would become the school’s only athletic center and would be connected to the main building via an overhead walkway. The two existing gyms would then be used for additional classrooms.

The school’s main entrance and administrative offices would switch places with the current library, which faces
Geremonty Drive. Science rooms and the auditorium will also be expanded.

Delahanty said the two groups were critical of the size of the new athletic facility but he believes it will prove to be a vital improvement for the community.

However, the Facilities Committee will consider reducing the facility’s size, which may cut the price tag by a few million.

Still, Delahanty said he’d like to see the plans stay as they are.

“There is some effort to reduce the size of it but I would rather bring a proposal in front of the town that we believe is the best one,” he said. “My thinking is that we still need to go through with the most prudent and efficient plan for the community.”

Despite Delahanty’s support of the plan, Budget Committee member Stephen Campbell said the new athletic facility is too much to ask for.

“This plan feeds into the stereotype that at Salem High School, if you’re a jock, you’ll get anything you need,” he said.

“If academics are your number one priority, why isn’t the new building for science or math?”

Campbell called the science room renovations an “afterthought” and said Delahanty shrugged his shoulders about the plan’s focus on athletics.

He also cited that 600 Windham students will leave Salem High School when their own high school is completed and enrollment projections show that elementary school numbers are declining in town.

“If you add space, that’s going to add to capacity,” he said. “We’re going to have a building that is 70-percent occupied. It’s adding to a school that’s already big enough.”

If the plan remains unchanged, the school district will ask voters to approve a $2.4 million bond article in March that will cover the cost of drafting blueprints and securing Frank P. Marinace Architecture.

A $40 million bond would appear before voters in March 2009. If passed, construction would begin in 2009 and be completed by the fall of 2011.

The project would raise taxes by about 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. A home valued at $300,000 would see a $200 increase in their bill per year.

Delahanty said he remains confident that voters will see the community’s need and support the project.

“If it fails, I won’t look back and regret my decision,” he said. “I’d rather have that than propose a lower-quality building and in 10 years see that it didn’t work.”

Tech head – New applications manager hired for school district

Salem Editor — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:23:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

The school district’s push toward revitalizing their technology department recently got a boost with a new hire.

Colleen Moran was hired to fill the new position of applications manager for the district. The $65,000 position was restored to the district’s budget during Town Meeting season despite the objection of some fiscally conservative officials.

Moran is a Salem resident who will begin working with the rest of the district’s technology department in July.

She currently works for the state Department of Environmental Services as a software developer and has more than 20 years of experience in the technology field.

Together, Moran and the staff will try to perform a large upgrade of the district’s technology.

Superintendent Michael Delahanty said Moran will begin her job by assessing the district’s current use of technology. By studying the current system, Moran will be able to see if the district is best using their technology.

“She has a good sense of the advances she can bring that will make our service to the community more optimal,” Delahanty said.

This optimal technology system will allow the district to reduce man-hours spent tending to problems and fixing errors.

Delahanty said he hopes to see an improved system that will allow the students, parents, and community members to better access the district.

In the future, students may be able to choose classes online while parents can pay bills and view grades on the district’s Web site, Delahanty said.

“Within the next year, we need to consider drawing more functionality from our system or consider getting a new one,” he said.

Once Moran has assessed the technology changes that can be made, she will train other staff members in using new applications and better using old applications.

The district also recently hired four elementary school teachers and a guidance counselor.

They are still seeking candidates for a middle school consumer sciences teacher and a high school foreign language teacher.

Well served – New computer technology gives SHS an upgrade

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:43:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

The Salem School District is one step closer to upgrading its information technology department after the purchase of an expensive piece of equipment.

The district recently ordered a new centralized server that cost nearly $100,000. The machine is due to be installed at Salem High School by next month.

The purchase will allow those who are in charge of maintaining the district’s computers to fix problems on any computer or printer without having to leave the high school, said information technology director George Morris.

This easier access to fixing problems will allow IT staff members to focus more on training teachers how to use software and will ultimately save the district time and money, Morris said.

The Hewlett-Packard server is set to arrive in Salem on June 18 and Morris said he hopes to have it up and running by July 9.

Voters approved the $99,736 server in March. It is part of a long-term plan by school officials to upgrade and revamp the information technology department.

Superintendent Michael Delahanty said he envisions an improved use of technology in several areas.

In the future, the Internet will likely be better used to provide access to the school district.

With an enhanced district Web site, students would be able to register for their courses online, check grades and communicate with teachers. Parents could pay bills, view progress reports and find out about new developments within the district.

Delahanty has said he wants to be able to provide information about how students are doing more regularly.

The district also took a major step toward their technology goal when they successfully restored an $80,000 applications manager position to their budget in March.

The position allows the district to make the best use of its existing technology and operate more efficiently, Delahanty said.

$40M high school price tag defended

Salem Editor — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:29:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

While some Salem residents may raise eyebrows at the school district’s proposed $40 million high school renovation project, officials have defended the price, saying it will ensure high-quality work.

The district recently selected Frank P. Marinace Architecture to perform a series of updates to the school including a new athletic facility, additional science labs and a reorganization of the school’s layout.

Though it took the Facilities Committee several months to interview a host of architects, review past projects, and narrow down their options, Superintendent Michael Delahanty said price didn’t become a factor until after Marinace was selected.

“You can’t go out and get a price for a new school,” he said. “We couldn’t even begin to imagine what the plans would look like without the help of an architect or a consultant.”

Determining a plan and price

While smaller construction and renovation projects at Salem’s schools typically involve contractors submitting bids, Delahanty said a project the size of the high school renovation is entirely different.

Though price was a top priority when considering the project, Delahanty said it was important that the district choose an architect with experience who would do a quality job.

School Board member Peter Morgan said it would have been foolish to pick an architect solely based on price.

“We don’t have to go with the lowest bidder,” he said. “If there’s someone that has good experience and the price isn’t outrageous, then we should go with them.”

Long-term needs

Once Marinace was selected, he and school officials discussed what could be done with the school. The proposed renovations came after many meetings and discussions about costs and possibilities.

Delahanty said he is confident that the plan will bring the school up to date and will last the town at least another 50 years before any further renovations will have to be made.

Currently, the high school has been pushed to capacity. Even when approximately 600 Windham students leave in 2009, the building will still be too small for the population, Delahanty said.

Paying $40 million for these updates is a fair price and, had the district selected another firm, the situation wouldn’t have changed much, he said.

“If another firm came up with the same ideas (as Marinace), then it would be about the same cost,” he said.

Up to the voters

Delahanty said the district will ask voters in March to approve a $2.4 million bond article that will cover the cost of drafting blueprints and securing the architects. A $40 million bond article would appear before voters in March 2009.

If passed, construction would begin in 2009 and be completed by the fall of 2011.

If the district’s $40 million bond is approved by voters, taxpayers could expect to see bills rise by 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. A home valued at $300,000 would see a $200 jump in their bill per year.

How other school districts have done it

Salem taxpayers aren’t alone in seeing school projects impact their bills. Over the past few years, many towns in the state have experienced similar situations.

In 2004, Hooksett built a new 131,000-square-foot middle school and performed renovations at another existing school for $21 million.

Former Hooksett School Board member Becky Berk said their architect selection process was similar to Salem’s. However, instead of choosing just one firm before talking costs, they selected several. After discussing plans and prices, they chose Team Design, based in Londonderry.

“We selected firms that we trusted and then they all bid,” she said. “Once we had a clear idea of what we wanted, we selected a firm.”

That same year, Marinace did a $30 million school renovation at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton where he built an athletic facility similar to the one proposed in Salem.

Marinace said since Winnacunnet has a comparable student population and called for similar renovations, he feels his price for Salem is reasonable considering the rising cost of construction and inflation.

“We don’t bid our fees,” he said. “It’s called qualification- based selection. You can hire an architect with little experience at a lower price but then you have to worry about problems with the building.”

Delahanty said the district will begin informing the public about the project soon in hopes of getting their $2.4 million bond article passed in March.

What cost access? – School Board considers changing information policy

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:58:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

A request made by Budget Committee members has the Salem School Board rethinking a policy about access to information and perhaps charging for time spent on searching for it.

After the board provided the Budget Committee with its annual expenses audit, they received requests for additional information.

The requests prompted a discussion on the role of the Budget Committee and the amount of time dedicated by district employees to generate a response.

Committee members Stephen Campbell and Kathy Cote asked the district to look into finding missing receipts from a student-run account at Barron School.

Campbell said the district’s audit revealed the missing receipts and a few other smaller problems. He said he raised the issue partially to encourage school officials to avoid these errors in the future.

“An audit certifies that your financial system is accurate,” he said. “What happened isn’t stealing, but it’s a mistake. I just want to make the budget the best it can be.”

Campbell said the committee’s request falls within their duties and a policy change isn’t recommended.

Members of the School Board have tabled the discussion temporarily but may adopt a policy in the near future that would require monetary reimbursement for staff time used to fulfill these kinds of requests.

This type of policy was suggested by board member Peter Morgan, who said he felt the district fell behind on some of its work because staff members had to devote all of their time to answering the budget committee request.

“If Stephen (Campbell) wants us to spend five hours looking up things, then he should reimburse us for the time,” he said.

Though the Budget Committee receives both the town and the district audit annually for review, Morgan said their recent request goes beyond what the law requires them to do.

“Under the law, there’s a narrow scope of what they are supposed to do,” he said. “But the Budget Committee has the tendency to say anything to do with money is our business.”

Still, board member Bernard Campbell said he felt Morgan’s policy might be too harsh. Instead, he suggested another policy which gives the Budget Committee more flexibility.

Morgan said the board decided to table the discussion because member Patricia Corbett was not present at the meeting.

Currently, he and other board members are working on drafting a policy that all members can agree on.

Should the board adopt a new policy, Morgan said he wanted to stress that he isn’t trying to restrict access to information. Rather, he wants to ensure the district’s time is spent appropriately.

“They can have any information they want,” he said. “I think they should have to pay for it.”

The board will take up the issue again at their June 12 meeting.

SHS renovations may top $40 million

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 May 2007 16:32:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

Salem High School was built more than 40 years ago and is in need of some updates. A recently proposed renovation and expansion plan for the school could cost upwards of $40 million.

While the plan to update the school in some way has been on the minds of school officials for several years, it took a formal committee and an architecture firm to decide what would be best for the district.

The Facilities Committee, working together with Frank P. Marinace Architecture, considered several options for updating the school, said Superintendent Michael Delahanty.

Delahanty said the committee looked at constructing a new school, which would have cost about $75 million, but decided it was too much money to ask taxpayers for. A $20 million refurbishing project was also considered, but was ruled out because it did not address the future needs of the town.

“If we’re going to invest that kind of money, we ought to be planning to do the project right and develop a facility that this community can be proud of,” Delahanty said. “It has to serve as a functional public gathering place.”

Delahanty said the district is planning on asking voters in March to approve a $2.4 million bond article that will cover the cost of drafting blueprints and securing the architects. A $40 million bond article would appear before voters in March 2009.

If passed, construction would begin in 2009 and be completed by the fall of 2011.

The proposed changes to the school are numerous, the largest being a new athletic facility to be built close to the school’s existing running track.

The school’s main entrance and administrative offices would switch places with the current library, which faces Geremonty Drive. Science rooms and the auditorium will also be expanded, Delehanty said.

This list of proposed changes will bring Salem High School up to code and will provide a more secure building, Facilities Committee member Tim Bosch told the School Board when presenting the plan. Bosch said the school is currently pushed to capacity, especially in areas like the library, science rooms and locker rooms.

Delahanty said the board backed Bosch’s thoughts.

“The life cycle of a school this size is about 50 years, but this school is used an inordinate amount,” he said. “If you come in early in the morning people are there. If you come late at night, people are there.”

Even when approximately 600 Windham students leave in 2009, the school’s classrooms will still be too small for the population, Delahanty said. There will be about 1,500 students after Windham pulls out, according to projections.

School Board member Peter Morgan said the loss of the Windham students will affect the district on multiple levels.

“We’re going to be hit with a double whammy,” he said. “When they leave, we’re going to lose revenue while we’re trying to expand the school.”

Still, while the price tag may be hefty, Delahanty said he believes now is the time to act because construction costs will only rise as time goes by, and the school will continue to deteriorate.

But in a town where bond articles have a history of being voted down, school officials will have their work cut out for them.

“There’s a need for everyone to be informed,” Delahanty said. “They need to realize the shape that the building is in and the cost of renovations. If we do a good job of giving this information, we believe the community will be supportive.”

Nolan unhittable in latest Salem romp

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 May 2007 18:37:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

So far this season, the Salem baseball team has been nearly perfect. On Monday, May 14, so was Connor Nolan.

The Blue Devils’ ace struck out 14 Manchester Central batters, including four of the final five hitters, to finish off a no-hitter in Salem’s 6-0 win at Gill Stadium.

A walk and two errors in the fifth inning was all that separated Nolan from a perfect game, but the senior had more to worry about that inning. The walk and miscues loaded the bases with two out before Nolan induced a groundout to end the threat.

The Blue Devils’ offense then gave Nolan the cushion he needed, adding a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh, including two on a single from Brian White, who finished 2-for-5 with three RBI.

The victory, Nolan’s fifth against no losses, upped Salem’s win streak to nine and its record to a Class L-best 13-1 entering a showdown with Bishop Guertin of Nashua on Wednesday, May 16. Nolan also lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.21 through 29 innings pitched. He now has 53 strikeouts and has yielded 15 hits.

Hal Landers, Ben Lawlor and Matt Delaney, Salem’s No. 1 through 3 hitters, all scored twice in the win.

The victory was just the latest in Salem’s run of impressive performances, which also included a 10-9 come-from-behind win at Winnacunnet on May 9.

In that game, the Blue Devils overcame a five-run fourth inning from Winnacunnet to score three in the fifth and five more in the sixth to finally take the lead.

White, who leads the team with 25 RBI entering Wednesday, led the way, driving in four runs and scoring another on a 3-for-3 day. Delaney went 2-for-4, scored three times and drove in a pair, while Landers, Evan Valcourt and Matt Hardy all added an RBI of their own to help propel the comeback.

Reliever Joe O’Dell settled down after his shaky fourth inning to pitch three scoreless frames, striking out four to earn his second victory of the year.

Diamond cuts

Nolan isn’t the only Salem pitcher terrorizing the league.

Entering Wednesday, Landers sat at 2-0 with a 1.70 ERA; Hardy, also at 2-0, sported a 2.27 ERA; and Eric Perrault, despite being shaken up for three earned runs in three innings against Winnacunnet, had struck out 15 batters through 13 1/3 innings for a 1-0 record.

On offense, White, at .440, is one of four players batting above .400, including Valcourt, at .479 with 18 RBI; Larry Weymouth, at .478 with a team-best .571 on-base percentage; and Hardy, at an even .400 with 13 runs scored and seven RBI.

Landers, batting .356, leads the team with 20 runs. Josh Jones is second with four doubles, and Lawlor has drawn a team-high 14 walks.

Salem fails to reach postseason for first time since ’93

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 May 2007 18:35:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

If it were up to him, Curt Killion’s team would have a better record. If he had his way, his squad would spend practices talking strategy for the postseason instead of thinking about next year.

But after losing four of his top six players, Killion doesn’t have those luxuries.

With their final match on Wednesday, May 16, the head coach of Salem High’s girls tennis team finds himself looking not at a 14-year streak of making the playoffs but at the future.

“I was hoping to do a little better, hoping we’d upset a couple matches and sneak into the playoffs,” said Killion. “We hit a part of the schedule where we faced some second-tier teams, and I thought we could take some wins, but we lost close ones. Things became more apparent, and now we’re looking at next year.”

Facing Class L contender Central, the Blue Devils were shut out, 9-0, on Monday, May 14. The Little Green dominated a young Salem team trying to find its way through inexperience.

In singles, returning senior Courtney Viehl was defeated, 8-0, in the No. 1 singles set. No. 2 player Iris Wilbur-Kamien was also held scoreless; Andrea Vinci lost, 8-3; Angela Rullo fell, 8-3, in the No. 4 singles set; Julianna Blaisdell lost, 8-0; and Nicole Antonelli dropped an 8-6 decision.

The doubles duo of Viehl and Vinci lost, 8-0; Wilbur-Kamien and Fay Long lost, 8-1; and Blaisdell and Antonelli fell, 8-4.

Matches decided by doubles sets have stung the Blue Devils this season, including losses to Alvirne, Timblerlane and Pinkerton.

“When we were at Pinkerton and lost, that was the toughest one this year,” said Viehl. “It came down to doubles, and we only won one where we had to win two to win. It’s just frustrating not to win those close matches because they make a big difference in how you end the season.”

Though 2007 marks the first time Salem won’t be in the postseason since 1993, Killion said the struggles came as no surprise.

With a large group of sophomores, including Rullo and Blaisdell, the Blue Devils mentor said he decided to identify this season as an anomaly.

“Some teams in Class L have continuously found themselves in the bottom,” said Killion. “And maybe that’s because they’re coming out there expecting to lose. I don’t want them to get used to losing. This is not something they should expect to do again.”