Weare News : Center Woods Elementary

Fundraising on for new playground in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:24:00 GMT

BY JENNIFER LORD

Fundraising efforts are underway for a new playground at Center Woods Elementary School.

Center Woods Principal Jude Chauvette said the goal is to raise $80,000 for new equipment and resurfacing.

“There’s a few pieces on the playground that we would retain,” Chauvette said. For example, the swing structure will stay, but the swings and chains will be replaced, including adding a handicap-accessible swing.

“The whole playground will be handicap accessible,” he said.

The rest of the playground simply needs updating. Chauvette said that while none of the original playground equipment is still there from when the school was built in 1991, he estimated some of the equipment is between 15 to 16 years old.

The money will come from several different avenues, including applying for grants and good old-fashioned fundraising.

Chauvette said the Weare School Board has pledged $20,000 from the Fields and Playgrounds Expendable Trust. The school has also applied for a federal grant and a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s community program.

As for community involvement, Weare Friends PTO organized a calendar fundrasier. Center Woods students are selling the calendars for $10 each, and there are 30 chances to win a total of $1,150 in prize money.

This voluntary fundraiser will run through March 27, and drawings start in April.

Next up will be the school’s annual community service project, with proceeds to benefit the playground fundraising.

“In May, the children will have a raffle,” Chauvette said. “Not a cash raffle – we’ve actually solicited prizes from businesses in the area.”

The grand prize will be a weekend getaway at the Balsams Resort, donated by Grappone Auto Group.

Chauvette said smaller prizes include ski passes to Pats Peak, tickets for Santa’s Village and StoryLand, a portable DVD player, a bird feeder, restaurant gift cards and more.

“The first weekend in June, we’ll have a Family Fun Day with fun activities like a climbing wall, bounce tent and do drawings for the raffle prizes,” Chauvette said.

The other treat for Center Woods students on the June 6 fun day will be cashing in their reward for the community service project – putting Chauvette in a dunk tank.

Every year students pick a reward for the community service project through the annual Kids’ Vote.

Chauvette said one year the school raised money for diabetes research, and the students voted to have him kiss a pig if they reached their fundraising goal.

Other service projects have included Jump Rope for Heart, Pennies for Patients and Heifer International.

Chauvette said the actual construction time for putting in the new playground will depend on when they get they funding in place. The building will most likely be done in phases.

If they have enough money available, Chauvette said some of the equipment could be purchased by July 1 and the first construction phase would be done in the summertime.

Once the first phase is done and students and parents can see the changes, Chauvette said hopefully that will help build motivation for the rest of the fundraising and construction. Parents might even get to help with the finishing touches.

“We’ll have a weekend build,” he said. “We’ll invite the community to come in and help assemble it.”

Core teachers restored

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:24:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

After the Weare School Board’s final meeting of the current fiscal year, the school administration now has some directions on what to restore to the 2008-09 budget.

Making their way back into the budget are two teaching positions for the second and fifth grades, to deal with enrollment bubbles in those grades; night and weekend custodial coverage to clean up after community programs; and one bus.

The world language teaching position at the Weare Middle School and the art teacher at Center Woods Elementary are still on the chopping block, according to school officials, something a few of those who attended the meeting on Tuesday, June 17, spoke against.

The school budget got a second wind when a total of 1,343 voters showed up at the polls for a second shot at voting in a proposed school budget.

The School District avoided its second default budget in a row by adding $240,000 to the $12.4 million default budget voted in March, a tactic which passed with voters the second time around in a 751-591 vote.

The School District’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

“I guess we’re faced with two kinds of bad choices, here,” said Selma Al-Abbas, whose daughter just completed the sixth grade at the middle school and looks forward to her French class. “Is there any other thing that can be juggled or considered?”

Al-Abbas suggested cutting library, after asking her daughter’s opinion on the matter.

“We have a beautiful school and we’ve gone backwards in teaching. Foreign languages is a basic middle school curriculum,” she said.

Superintendent Christine Tyrie said the state Department of Education requires schools to have a library and media program. Cutting library could jeopardize the school’s accreditation status.

“One of the reasons that we looked at French is that it is not a required program for a middle school,” Tyrie said. “If you’re deficient, you have up to three years to address that. After that, it means you close your school down and you have to tuition every student out of the school.”

Tyrie said the art and world languages programs would be the easiest to integrate into the classroom setting. If the secondand fifth-grade teachers were not restored, class sizes would increase significantly.

School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said as the board looks at ways to save more money as the school year approaches, the world language position would be one of the first things restored.

“The point of this discussion is to see what direction we want to go. I don’t think by any means we’re setting this in stone,” said Thomas. “I don’t think we’ve ever set a budget in stone in the history of this town.”

Parent and teacher Kim Grattan said her kids, who attend Weare Middle School, are in upper levels and need extras outside the core classes to challenge them.

“I have two children who do excel and there is very little for them that goes above and beyond that basic curriculum, and French is one of those things that offers something extra,” Grattan said.

Grattan also pointed out that the elimination of the French program at the middle school will prevent Weare students from being able to reach AP French by their senior year at John Stark Regional High School.

School board member Marjory Burke spoke in favor of restoring the art and French teaching positions.

“I think that we need to expose our children to as much variety as possible to make them well rounded citizens for the 21st century. It pains me to know that we’re removing art and language,” Burke said.

Thomas said the school district is working with new bus route mapping software that will provide ways to consolidate and possibly eliminate routes, which could make some room in the budget by the fall.

The district may also end up saving money when it hires new people to replace retirees this year, who may have less experience and thus be on a lower pay scale.

Grattan said after the meeting she appreciates the difficult decisions the board has to make, adding it’s up to Weare voters to discourage cuts through their vote.

“It’s got to be up to the townspeople to pass a few budgets,” said Grattan.

Weare school has June 3 revote

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:15:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Weare School District is asking voters to go back to the polls Tuesday, June 3, to vote on a second version of a proposed school budget.

The polls will be open at Center Woods Elementary from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

After a group of concerned Weare parents started a grassroots campaign in support of the new budget that helped bring about 100 people to the deliberative session for the revised budget, Superintendent Christine Tyrie said she sees a big difference in the community’s reception of the budget vote this time around.

“It was really gratifying and I can say that sincerely,” Tyrie said. “I think when people see how badly this is going to hurt Weare schools, they know they’re going to have to step to the plate and support what we’re doing.”

By a 806-731 margin, the initial $12.9 million budget the School Board proposed for 2008- 09 was voted down in March, and the town is now under a $12.4 million default budget.

School officials say remaining on the $12,463,776 default budget would impose several cuts in staff, including the elimination of the only world languages teacher at the middle school and the art teacher at Center Woods.

It would also force cuts in night and weekend maitenance coverage, eliminating one custodial position completely and possibly requiring community organizations to pay to use the school facilities after hours, according to school officials.

It would also eliminate two buses. The bus routes would be reconfigured and students who live less than 2 miles from school would not be picked up.

The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12,703,776 million in the new proposal, which would restore two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus.

Tricia Ober, one of the organizers of the parent advocacy group campaigning for the passage of the revised budget, said the group has been handing out brochures at community events and placing fliers at bus stops, as well as standing roadside with signs.

An anonymous donor allowed the group to print the campaign signs, and members of the campaign group have been asking to run off fliers at work to save money.

“It’s been very positive. You go to different community events and school events and it’s being talked about,” Ober said. “That was the goal of this group, to get the people to talk about it and understand what they’re voting on.”

Ober added the group would be out at the schools with signs again on Monday, June 2, and Tuesday, June 3, to remind people to vote.

The $12.4 million default currently in place will result in an increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on the tax rate over last year. If the new $12.7 million proposed budget passes, the tax rate would increase by 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year.

For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $62.50 for the default budget or $130 for the second proposed budget over last year’s rate.

Weare Middle School’s operating costs were a new addition to the budget this year, affecting spending by teachers to accommodate the new school and maintaining the facilities.

Currently, Weare spends the least amount per pupil in the state. The state average is around $10,000 per pupil, and Weare spends $7,345 per pupil according to Tyrie.

Goffstown spends $8,425 per pupil and Henniker, which shares a school administrative unit with Weare, spends $11,441, Tyrie said.