Taking advantage of a whirlwind of community support for a teen’s idea to build a windmill at Windham’s new high school, School Board members have established a committee to tackle research and construction in the coming months.

Superintendent Frank Bass said that since the alternative energy project was first floated by 13-year-old David Hutchings, he’s received an influx of phone calls from community members interested in contributing to the project.

The project, which may involve the first wind- and solar-power structure of its kind in New Hampshire, is meant to become a teaching tool in science and math classrooms while also providing energy to the school, Bass said.

The School Board voted to create the committee Tuesday, May 6, and appointed former selectman Alan Carpenter as chairman.

“We can take it and turn into a reality that contributes to everyone,” Carpenter said to school officials about his interest in the project.

Bass advised board members to create the committee to give to take advantage of community interest while the board can maintain its focus on the school district and high school construction.

The committee will focus on construction feasibility, the type of alternative energy methods to be used and funding for the best construction option before the school opens in fall 2009.

School Board Chairman Barbara Coish emphasized trying to pay for the project without using taxpayer money.

Carpenter’s wife Diane, the president of the Windham Endowment for Community Advancement, said the endowment board members are interested in taking on some of the funding initiatives for the project.

“We can be the vehicle that receives that money and comes to the School Board to accept it,” Diane Carpenter said.