By Darrell Halen

A move to put a construction project to build a second road to Windham High School on the school ballot instead of the town ballot has prompted school and town officials to discuss how they can work together.

Currently, a new road leads from Route 111 to where the school is being built. It’s part of the school construction project.

Selectmen have been planning to build a second road to the school by extending the new road to Castle Hill Road. They had prepared a $1,020,000 town warrant article to fund it.

But recently, state Rep. Charles McMahon submitted a school district warrant article by citizen petition for the school district to build the road for $1.25 million.

McMahon argued that putting the road construction project on the school district ballot rather than the town’s would provide a substantial savings to taxpayers because the district would receive 30 percent in state aid.

His move prompted town and school officials to see if they could rally behind a modified version of McMahon’s article for the school district ballot.

For the district to recoup 30 percent of the project’s price tag – perhaps $300,000 to $400,000 – it must own the land for the road. Several officials said they wanted to have a cooperative effort between the School Board and selectmen that would enable the school district to acquire the land.

“It behooves us to at least explore a number of possibilities to make this thing work,” said Superintendent Frank Bass during a School Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at Golden Brook School.

Before McMahon submitted his warrant article, selectmen were already planning to hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 14, on their warrant article to build the second road.

Because McMahon’s article will appear on the school ballot, selectmen may withdraw theirs to avoid voters having to face two similar warrant articles in March.   

The school is scheduled to open in fall 2009. Although no one argued against a second road to the school should not be built, not everyone favors the road construction proposal being placed on the school district’s ballot.

“To me, the town should be doing it,” said School Board member Barbara Coish. “The town should be getting the betterment (fees) to do it. It needs to be done but it should not be us.”

McMahon said that the town can’t use betterment fees to pay for the road.

Other School Board members said they wanted more information, particularly about costs. And they said they didn’t want the school district in the “road building business.”

“However, we do have to think as a town,” said School Board member Beth Valentine. “If it’s better for the town to do it this way, I certainly could be swayed to do it that way. But I think there are details we’re going to need to firm up so that we know what we’re getting into.”

Two School Board members, Beverly Donovan and Bruce Anderson, will work with town officials to work out details.

McMahon said a second access road to the school is required by state law, and that a state Department of Education official erred when he approved the school without having a second road.

That prompted Anderson to complain that they were being told in the “11th hour” that the school couldn’t be opened without the second road, and that he wanted an explanation from the official.