BY DARRELL HALEN

A lawyer for the Windham School District has demanded that the owner of a Web site stop using the name of its high school mascot. Officials say the site is not sanctioned by the district, but using the name may confuse the public. 

The Web site, www.windhamjaguars.com, went up before the town’s March 13 election, raising the ire of school board members at their March 6 meeting.

“They twist everything you say and make you look foolish,” board member Al Letizio Jr. said to representatives of the school’s high school building team.

The Web site lists the costs of new high school projects in Exeter, Kingston and Windham.

“Facts and numbers typically don’t lie so we’ll let them speak for themselves,” the site reads. “With proper planning and leadership it’s not abnormal, impossible or out of the ordinary for a town to spend X amount of tax dollars to get the following. Why are things run so differently in Windham?”

The site includes photos, floor plans and information about the schools, a photo of Windham school officials at a groundbreaking ceremony and a list of state Department of Education “do’s and don’ts” for building a school.

It also previously included an e-mail letter from school board member Beverly Donovan questioning the need for the community to pursue additional money for the project, which were presented to voters as Options B and C.

Donovan and school board member Barbara Coish opposed two bond articles for the school, while Letizio, Bruce Anderson and Beth Valentine supported them. All five supported passage of an article to allow the school district to spend $3 million in interest accrued on previously approved bonds.

Anderson said Donovan’s letter included inaccurate information. Donovan said her letter was a private message sent to a friend that was posted without her permission.

Donovan denied having anything to do with the Web site or knowing who is behind it.

In a March 7 letter to the Web site’s Web master, school district lawyer Gordon Graham wrote that the use of the Web site name, the claimed “Home of the Windham High School Jaguars,” constitutes a wrongful infringement upon the district’s name and status as a corporate entity.

Arguing that the Web site is not sanctioned by the district and could confuse the public, Graham demanded that the site’s owner cease and desist in using the school’s name in this manner.

Graham also argued that the Web site does not comply with state law governing political advertising because it does not identify who is responsible for it.

The state defines political advertising as any communication that advocates for success or defeat of any measure or candidate, the lawyer said.

Graham notified the state Attorney General’s Office of the alleged violation.

Since it went online, the Web site now carries a message on its home page, claiming that it is not a political site and does not endorse candidates or take positions on warrant articles, and does not attempt to change opinions on political issues.

On March 13, voters approved spending the interest money and a $4 million warrant article to build the school large enough to accommodate 1,000 students.

They rejected a $3 million bond article to provide other features to the school, including a mini-gym and converting a field to an artificial turf field.