Windham News : school board

School Board seeks public input for future facilities needs

Salem Editor — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:13:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

With the town’s new high school up and running, the School Board is taking a hard look at the rest of the district’s facilities and asking residents to get in on the process.

The board held the first of several planned public forums focusing on the district’s future facility needs late last month, a discussion that school officials are describing as a success. According to Vice Chairman Michael Hatem, roughly 75 residents turned out to voice their concerns and share their thoughts.

“Most of the commentary was all positive,” he said. “We were looking for input from the public for what they thought was the best steps to take forward with the population crunch we’re seeing now.”

Hatem said the board came to the meeting with four proposals. One option would update the district’s current facilities to today’s needs at a cost of roughly $18 million, while the other three included reconfiguring the community’s existing schools or possibly building a new school, all with varying price tags, according to Hatem.

“Right now we have the middle school, the brand new high school and two elementary schools: the Golden Brook and Center schools. Center School and the middle school are both in good shape, but need some maintenance. Golden Brook is now our biggest school since kindergarten was added and is in the worst physical condition,” Hatem said. “What we’re looking for is how do we restructure the district?”

A plan to build a facility designed solely to house kindergarten students met with criticism after residents voiced concerns over the cost of hiring a new principal, according to Hatem. Residents prefer keeping the district’s current four-school configuration, he said.

Board Chairman Bruce Anderson said keeping the residents and voters in the loop was the leading factor behind holding the public forum. The public discussion allowed the board to lay out their concerns when it came to the district’s facility needs and solicit input before moving ahead with a new plan on the March ballot.

“People are concerned about the tax rate. What we were showing them are some ideas on how we build for the future. We just finished paying off a bond for the expansion of the Center School and now that building is almost overcrowded again. If we have to do something new ... give (the residents) a solution that’s not as soon as you pay the bond off you have to do this again,” Anderson said. “I think they understand there is an issue. I think they understand that the facilities getting overcrowded will have an effect on student performance.”

Still, Anderson said the board was sensitive to the state of the economy and did not plan to put any large spending articles before voters this year. Voters would more than likely be asked to sign off on architectural designs in March, ranging somewhere between $800,000 to $500,000. Anderson said the board would have a better idea of the cost as they moved forward.

“When I came on the board five-and-a-half years ago it was at the point where we had to the build the high school. We were kind of in a position to build our own high school, but in this case we’re starting from a blank piece of paper,” he said. “We have facilities and we have to make the best use of them we can to expand for the future ... Residents can make some comments, and I think what it does is we get ideas back from the public and the public can understand the thought process to how we got to where we are. It gets voter buy-in.”

The board plans to hold several more public forums on the district’s facilities this year, but no specific times or dates have been set, according to Hatem.

District plans to give laptop to every Windham High School student

Salem Editor — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:10:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Rather than putting a computer in every classroom, school administrators are planning to put a computer in the hands of every student enrolled at the new high school.

“One of the things we’ve been doing is trying to research what are going to be the best practices to prepare kids for the world around then when they get out of high school,” Assistant Superintendent Roxanne Wilson said. “We’ve done the research that says we need to have kids technologically adept to compete in the world market.”

A new program embraced by the superintendent’s office, one-to- one computing, should put a personal laptop computer in the hands of every student who steps foot into the new school building after it opens next fall, making Windham one of the first public school systems in New Hampshire to bring 21st-century skills into the curriculum, according to Wilson.

Students will have the laptops with them throughout the day, but will be able take them home after the school day ends for homework and research use. Wilson said that allowing the students to use the equipment both at school and at home will infuse the technological aspect of the Internet age into their everyday learning and help them improve their critical thinking and problem- solving skills.

“We want to make sure that we have the opportunity to give our kids the upper edge on technology and preparing them for that route,” she said.

According to the high school’s technology director, Terry Bullard, implementing the plan has come at a perfect time with the construction of the new school in Windham. Rather than retrofitting the building or the curriculum for the one-to-one computing program, administrators have the opportunity to configure both the school and their future teachers around the student laptops.

“One of the reasons this is the right time to do this for Windham is that we’re able to incorporate the proper infrastructure to do this as well as the staffing to develop the proper curriculum,” Bullard said. “ It’s a unique opportunity to start fresh.”

The school will be equipped with a wireless Internet signal for students and educators to use throughout the day, as the laptops replace the need for individual computer labs. The school is also bringing on board a technical staff to maintain a “help desk” for students experiencing problems with their computers.

While the details on the program have not been worked out – both the total cost of the laptops and the specific computer model to be used have yet to be determined – Wilson said that by giving out individual laptops to students saved the school money in the short term, though that cost would increase as the school body expanded to include not only the freshmen and sophomore classes, but juniors and seniors as well.

Wilson got the go-ahead to begin the program with a unanimous vote from the School Board on Oct. 21. Board Chairman Barbara Coish said the research Bullard and Wilson had done on the program had convinced her that it would be the right move for Windham’s high school students.

“Hopefully, it turns out to be as exciting as it sounds to be and it benefits the students more than just books, books, books,” she said. “I would imagine that would instill some responsibility in the students. They know they have to take care of this equipment.”

A little longer for Windham High School access road decision

Salem Editor — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:33:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Windham school superintendent and School Board member Michael Hatem told the town’s Board of Selectmen they need a few more weeks to come up with a viable plan for a second access road for the new high school. The Board of Selectmen held an informational meeting on the issue during their regular weekly selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Sept. 29.

Fire Chief Tom McPherson led the board and the public through a PowerPoint presentation outlining the fire codes that justify intalling the second access before the school can open in September 2009 and showing aerial photos to support his case for the road.

McPherson said he is urging the School Board to act quickly on planning the access road, as there is less than a year left before the school’s opening to get all the planning, engineering, and construction completed. Superintendent Frank Bass said in a letter to the Board of Selectmen that the School Board would like until Oct. 29 to come up with a final plan.

“Certainly the board will work its very best to come to a timely decision as quickly as they can,” Bass said. “They just wanted extra time to get it right and explore every option.”

Hatem, speaking as a citizen and not a School Board member, said the board will come to the right solution soon, but needs some time to sort out the options.

“I think we just need a little time to turn down the heat. We’re going to solve this,” Hatem said.

During a special vote at the primary election on Sept. 9, Windham voters turned down a $1.25 million bond proposal for a paved town road that would cover the unpaved portion of London Bridge Road, extending it from Route 111 to Castle Hill Road. At the vote in March, a similar proposal on the school district ballot was also voted down.

The fire and police officials in town supported that proposal because it complied with fire and safety codes and would also function as a means of accessing the western side of town more quickly, McPherson said.

“The issue with this is it was the only presentation that we saw,” said McPherson. “That was the proposal put before us, and we, as public safety officials, supported that because of reasons other than the high school.”

Selectman Charles McMahon called for the meeting, inviting the School Board, the state fire marshal, and a representative from the state’s Department of Education.

“It’s real, it’s palpable and there’s real anxiety,” McMahon said of the community’s worry over the access road issue, adding he’s gotten calls from residents asking whether they should explore other high school options for their children in case the school doesn’t open as planned.

The state fire marshal’s office and the Department of Education both sent letters to the town saying they would not attend the meeting because the access road is a town issue.

According to the National Fire Protection Association’s universal fire code, which McPherson explained during the presentation, “more than one fire department access road shall be provided when it is determined by the (authority having jurisdiction) that access by a single road could be impaired by vehicle congestion, condition of terrain, climatic conditions or other factors that could limit the access.”

The code further states that any access road should be at least 20 feet wide with a vertical clearance of no less than 13 feet 6 inches, and should be able to carry emergency vehicles and be properly maintained.

During the presentation, McPherson showed several aerial photos of the school taken by state police in helicopter flyovers, and also photos of some maintenance roads coming off of London Bridge Road that service the athletic fields.

Those two maintenance roads are only about 14 feet wide, said McPherson, and do not meet the requirements for a second access according to the fire code.

Police Chief Gerald Lewis said the second access is important in case of an accident or other catastrophic event that could block London Bridge Road, which has some blind curves and steep grades off the edges of the road in some spots.

Lewis pointed out that everything from buses, propane delivery trucks and cars containing new student drivers will be traveling along that road either to or from the school.

“It takes one incident anywhere along here for us to have difficulty getting in and getting out,” Lewis said.

McPherson also used photos to point out the heavily wooded areas surrounding the school, saying there was no safe place to evacuate students without the access road being present.

Lewis said any incident of school violence would pose a problem in trying to evacuate and account for students in the woods, saying he and the chief would be the ones on the hook for any mishaps in the evacuation procedure.

Windham to use portable classrooms to make room for kindergarteners

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:42:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Windham School Board has decided on a temporary facilities plan to get kindergarten up and running by the state’s deadline of September 2009.

The board voted unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16, to place portable classrooms at one or more of the school district’s existing schools, but a definite spot has not yet been selected.

The state would pay for the portables and the materials needed to run them, as well as provide the school district with $1,200 per student for the year in funding.

“The only thing we’d have to pay for would be the cost of the teachers, and the state is providing some incentives there,” said Frank Bass, superintendent for the Pelham and Windham school districts, both of which are on the list of 11 towns who need to begin a public kindergarten program by the start of school in September 2009.

The per-student funding would likely cover the cost of paying teachers’ salaries, leaving little to nothing left for taxpayers’ bills, Bass said.

The $1,200 represents half of the average daily membership, which the state gives to all communities to educate each public school student. Because the state mandates only half-day kindergarten, they will reimburse half.

The New Hampshire Board of Education included at least half-day public kindergarten in its definition of an adequate education during their session in spring 2007, requiring the districts in the state without such programs to get one in place. The other school districts who were without public kindergarten programs at the time the mandate went into effect were Salem, Chester, Litchfield, Derry, Milford, Lyndeborough, Hudson, Auburn and Mascenic Regional.

When it first was set, the mandate was largely unfunded, sparking controversy among those districts without kindergarten. They demanded state funding solutions, and more or less got them.

A long-term solution to kindergarten facilities will include an in-depth study on the Windham School District’s current facilities, looking at enrollment projections, possible upgrades to current buildings, and possibly building new ones.

“We have yet to determine what route we want to take,” said Bass, adding a committee devoted to the facilities study was formed in August.

Communities have been calculating how many students they would need to accommodate in kindergarten programs by taking 80 percent of the amount of children who will be kindergarten age by the time school starts. Using that estimate, Windham would need to make room for about 215 to 225 students.

So far, the Pelham School Board has yet to decide what avenue they will take to begin kindergarten in their district.

“We’re still exploring several options,” Bass said. “I think that will be a running conversation for each and every meeting of the Pelham School Board.”

The state has said they would provide 75 percent in aid for construction costs to build new facilities for the communities facing public kindergarten establishment. This could happen at the same time the communities are receiving the total funding for portables in the short term. All of the 11 school districts without kindergarten have until Dec. 1 to submit their long-term plans for kindergarten to the state.

Windham official must solve high school access road issue

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:34:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

State and local officials said the town is not in serious jeopardy of losing state building aid for the new high school after voters rejected a second access road required under the state fire code.

In order to receive financial aid from the state for the construction of a new school, the structure’s plans must be approved and the building must meet fire codes, both at the local and state level. With the recent rejection of a proposal to construct a $1.25 million secondary access road to the future high school, required by Fire Chief Tom McPherson for the school to open, some worry that the state may rescind funding for the construction project.

State aid would cover 30 percent of the cost to build the new high school, roughly $17 million of the $55 million project.

“If you don’t build by the code, you don’t get the money,” said Selectman Charles McMahon. “It’s the view of the people in Windham who have not accepted that there is a higher jurisdiction and the state Department of Education that clearly states in their codes and their rules what it takes to build this high school. We need to respond to that, not with opinion, but with statements of fact.”

In an e-mail sent to town officials, Ed Murdough, of the New Hampshire Department of Education, reiterated state fire codes must be met in order for the town to receive building aid. Chief McPherson, who has publicly stated he will not allow the school to open without a second exit, has the authority to enforce the code if in “his judgment there is a likelihood that the primary access could be blocked during an emergency situation,” according to Murdough.

According to Murdough, the only scenario in which the school would lose state funding would be if the building never opened, an outcome he called “not realistic.”

“My expectation is that they’re going to work it out,” he said. “How they work it out, I don’t know, but they’ve got to resolve that locally.”

In the meantime, McMahon has proposed a meeting between state and local authorities to hash out the problem and determine a solution on Sept. 29.

“It’s in law, it’s irrefutable, and sadly, there are those that don’t except that. I don’t want to mortgage our future and children’s safety on opinion,” McMahon said. “Let’s get the authorities in the same room.”

According to McMahon, close to eight months would be needed to construct a second access road, leaving the town with a tight schedule to fulfill the requirements to ensure the school opens on time next fall. McMahon said that the rapidly closing window of time to resolve the issue had spurred the board to get involved in finding a viable solution.

“We have to sit down and just meet with everybody involved and try and resolve this,” said Selectman Roger Hohenberger. “I can’t foresee an instance where the school can open and we won’t get 30 percent state aid. I can’t foresee an instance where the school won’t open.”

Windham's school and town may join to buy defibrillators

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:30:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Windham School Board and the Fire Department are looking to pool their resources to purchase 11 new automated external defibrillators for town buildings and the new Windham High School.

The Windham Board of Selectmen gave their conditional approval to the Fire Department to waive the bid process pending some further price shopping after Assistant Fire Chief Robert Leuci explained at a meeting on Monday, June 2, that he believed the model being sought was the best value.

Six of the defibrillators will go into the high school and the town’s five will go into the library, town hall, senior center, transfer station and Griffin Park, said Leuci.

Only two town buildings, the administrative building and the cable station, will not have defibrillators, but both have easy access to them at the town hall and senior center, respectively. In purchasing the machines together, the distributor being considered is offering a 20 percent discount, Leuci said, for the defibrillators and the required cabinets required for them.

The model being sought, a Phillips FRx 2, is a newer model that will result in cost savings long term, said Leuci.

“With the on-site machines, we have to replace the pads every two years. This saves us about $1,500 each year on purchasing and replacing child pads,” Leuci said.

The child pads emit a different charge than the adult pads. The model has a key to automatically switch the defibrillators to the child pad setting.

There is $8,500 budgeted for the town’s five defibrillators. To buy five of the FRx 2 machines, the department will run about $1,300 over budget, said Town Administrator David Sullivan.

Pelham and Windham for kindergarten, but against state mandate

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:37:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

An amendment to a bill going through the state Legislature that mandates public kindergarten for districts without it poses several options for communities looking to establish a program by the September 2009 deadline.

Rep. Lynne Ober, one of the drafters of the amendment to the state’s original kindergarten bill, said the “menu” of options includes 100 percent building aid, pushing the deadline back and integrating private kindergartens into the public system during a transitional period.

“We’re getting some positive support,” said Ober, who represents Pelham, Hudson and Litchfield in the State House. “We know we still have some wrinkles.”

The proposal was co-authored with Peter Leishman, who represents Amherst and Milford. Some of the 12 communities without kindergarten may consider suing, Ober said, on the premise that the kindergarten bill as it currently stands is an unfunded mandate.

“If they sued, that would be an injunction that would prevent kindergarten for all the communities,” said Ober. “My whole goal is do not put money in the attorney’s pockets. We want to get public kindergarten started now, and we want to put enough options on the table so that every school district can choose the options that’s right for them.”

The “menu” item that suggests paying state aid to certain private kindergartens, which would be certified according to state standards, would allow districts to contract private establishments and universalize the curriculum while setting up their own public kindergarten system.

“There are 12 districts, and some of them don’t have land to build on. That’s what we’re looking at as a way to transition that lets all 12 districts start in a way that is legal,” Ober said, adding the penalties for failing to set up kindergarten could include losing state aid.

School Board members for two of those districts, Pelham and Windham, said their respective boards are not against the idea of public kindergarten but disagree with the state mandating it without complete funding.

Windham School Board Chairman Barbara Coish said the proposed options seem beneficial to towns looking at setting up kindergarten, but added Windham is waiting the legislation out.

“We know it’s down the road, but when exactly we implement public kindergarten is going to depend on how the legislation comes out,” Coish said.

The board unanimously decided not to put any items on the 2008 warrant pertaining to kindergarten, Coish said, but generally supports the idea of having public kindergarten that would put incoming first-graders on a level playing field.

She added locating or building proper facilities for kindergarten would be the hardest part of the process. The Windham School Board has brainstormed several ideas for housing kindergarten, including installing portable classrooms and renovating the Golden Brook School, but has not settled on anything.

“We have not made any decision, we are just waiting to see what the final legislation looks like,” Coish said.

Eleanor Burton said the Pelham School Board is also waiting on planning for kindergarten until the finished bill comes out of legislation.

“It’s so uncertain because it’s still going through the house, and there are going to be some revisions,” Burton said.

Burton, a Pelham School Board member for seven years, said the board has considered taking part in a law suit against the state on the premise that the kindergarten legislation as it stands constitutes an unfunded mandate.

“I hate to think the state is mandating it because they need to realize the financial constraints of individual communities and what their priorities are,” Burton said. “Mandating without funding … I don’t see financially how that fits into our picture.”

Schools benefit from piano donation

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:47:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

The Windham School District has a baby grand piano – thanks to the generosity of a local couple.

School Board member Beverly Donovan said Al and Cathy Pappalardo, who recently sold the Guesthouse Inn and Suites in Methuen, Mass., donated the Kawai baby grand piano to the Windham Endowment for Community Advancement.

The Windham School Board, in turn, accepted the donation from the nonprofit foundation.

The piano was appraised at $6,500, according to Donovan.

“The appraiser said it was in wonderful shape,” she said.

The piano is currently on loan to Windham Middle School, and will be used as the stage concert piano in Windham High School’s auditorium when the school opens in fall 2009, according to Donovan.

Donovan’s family paid $60 for the appraisal and $300 was donated by School Board member Barbara Coish to transport the piano.

Cathy Pappalardo, a first-grade special education teacher at Golden Brook School, said the piano used to be located in the hotel’s function room. She said she and her husband, who have a daughter in seventh grade, like that the piano will be used at the schools.

“It’s actually quite beautiful, black and shiny, real nice, and it has great tone,” she said. “We’re hoping it will be enjoyed.”

Diane Carpenter, another resident involved with the endowment group, said the Windham Woman’s Club donated $200 to purchase a cover for the piano.

High school head chosen

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:48:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

An educator from Hollis has been chosen as the first principal of Windham High School.

Richard Manley was recently selected out of two finalists for the job by the Windham School Board. He will begin working full time in his new position on July 1.

“We had two excellent candidates to choose from. However, Mr. Manley had a great combination of credentials and great skills as a leader, a role model to other teachers and students,” said School Board Chairman Al Letizio Jr.

Manley, 51, currently serves as principal of North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, Mass., a job he has held for two years.

From 2001-06, he served as the assistant principal of Hollis Brookline High School. He was a social studies teacher there from 1983 to 2001.

Manley said he was drawn to the Windham position because of the town’s dedication to education and its commitment to having a high school “second to none.”

“I think it’s an opportunity to build a great high school, and I’m glad to be part of the leadership team,” he said.

The announcement of Manley’s hiring characterizes him as a life-long learner.

He went to high school in Danvers, Mass., and earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Salem State College in 1978.

He holds a master of arts degree in history from Northeastern University, a certificate in Spanish from the University of Massachusetts, a certificate of advanced studies in educational administration from Rivier College and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Manley does not practice law, but is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association and supports such programs such as Mock Trial, Granite State Challenge and We the People, according to the announcement.

Manley said he took a liking to history while he was in high school.

“I attribute that to having some great teachers who inspired me,” he said. “I found the subject interesting and still do today.

Manley was a Fulbright Scholar who studied in India and was recently chosen to participate in a principal shadowing program in China as part of a cultural exchange program.

He received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and studied Russian history at Harvard University. In addition, he has traveled in Europe, including the Soviet Union, where he studied alternative education programs.

Letizio said that he expects Manley will deliver a “standout” program to students at the high school, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

Manley and his wife, Rita, have two young children. His starting salary is $99,500.

Second school road proposed

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:14:00 GMT

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.

Board adopts athletic plan

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:35:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

In a 3-2 vote, the Windham School Board adopted an athletic master plan for the site of its future high school.

Al Letizio Jr., the board’s chairman, along with Bruce Anderson and Beth Valentine voted to adopt the conceptual plan, which includes athletic facilities for the high school and a future middle school at the site.

“I look at the master plan as something we adopt but knowing that over time future school boards will have to revisit it, revise it, because things do change,” Valentine said.

The adoption of the plan is contingent upon the school district securing town approval to use a portion of the Gage Land, townowned recreation and conservation property, on which to place some of the athletic facilities.

And fields on a 32-acre parcel at the site must be positioned to maximize the land’s future use. Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish voted against adopting the plan.

“What really worries me is that we’ve really sped through this the past couple of meetings,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of things thrown at us. We haven’t really deliberated much at all ... I still do have a lot of questions.” Letizio and Valentine argued that the matter had not been rushed.

Earlier in the meeting, Donovan said that using some of the Gage Land, through a land swap, had become a hot topic in town. But Valentine disputed that. “I have to say 100 percent of the people I hear from have told me: it’s our land. Let us have the opportunity to weigh in on it,” Valentine said. “Some people might support it, some might not.”

Some of the discussion focused on where the best place would be to build a proposed football stadium.

Valentine said she doesn’t support placing it on the 32-acre section because hundreds of spectators will park along a street, creating a dangerous situation.

“I’ve heard about issues with safety. I’ve heard about issues with security and maintenance that tells me this is the right spot for this,” Letizio said of putting the stadium on the Gage Land.

The school district, he said, is capable of delivering a two-forone swap for a portion of the recreation and conservation land.

School Board seeks conservation land for stadium

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:48:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Windham’s School Board chairman and school superintendent will ask three town boards if they would support placing a proposed high school athletic stadium on town-owned conservation and recreation land.

In a 3-2 vote, the Windham School Board voted during a Wednesday, Oct. 10, meeting to allow Chairman Al Letizio Jr. and Superintendent Frank Bass to approach selectmen, the Recreation Committee and the Conservation Commission about using roughly 8 acres of what is known as the Gage land.

The land could be obtained by the school district through a land swap approved by voters.

A week earlier, Letizio unveiled a conceptual plan to add a baseball field, a softball field, a second gymnasium, and a stadium with a track and artificial turf field at Windham High School.

The upgrade is estimated to cost at least $5.4 million and is a result of recommendations from an athletics committee.

To fit the new facilities on the school site, which officials expect to someday place another school on, the plan calls for placing the stadium on 8.2 acres of the Gage land, which is adjacent to the site.

The high school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

During the two-hour meeting, the board was divided on whether they should seek use of the Gage land. Beverly Donovan and Barbara Coish are opposed to asking for it.

“I feel that we’re rushing this plan through,” said Donovan, who wants to see alternatives. “Maybe there are others way to do it.”

Donovan added that the Gage land is used for activities such as hiking and cross country skiing.

“There are other people in this town, other than school-age children, that have a right to have a place to have recreational activities.”

Donovan argued that not all school athletic facilities have to be on the same site, and repeated her wish to have a master plan for all school district property.

“Why bother committing suicide?” asked Coish, who said that most selectmen don’t support giving up the Gage land.

And she questioned if there would be enough students when the school opened to support a full set of varsity and junior varsity teams. Bass said he thought there would be.

Bruce Anderson joined Letizio and Beth Valentine in going forward with discussions with the town boards. But Anderson questioned if voters would approve spending $5.5 million or $6 million in March for the extra facilities.

Valentine said it would be a mistake for School Board members to presume how officials and residents would react to the idea of allowing the school district to use the Gage land.

“I think it’s something the town should have the opportunity to weigh in on,” she said.

“It’s the town’s land. They get to decide.

“I think when it comes to what we promised the community – everything’s on the table for delivering the best, the most that we can.”

$14K spent on video cameras for buses

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:05:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Troublemakers, beware: there will be another “set of eyes” on your school bus.

The Windham School Board has voted to spend $14,600 to install video cameras and recording devices on all 17 buses and four mini buses that Laidlaw, the bus company, uses in Windham.

By doing so, board members hope to ensure student safety and maintain discipline.

“We’ve had a concern about bullying,” School Board member Barbara Coish said recently. “It appears a large amount of it happens on buses.”

According to a school district policy that’s been drafted, signs and notices in student handbooks will alert students that all actions on buses may be recorded.

The recordings, however, will not include sound. Superintendent Frank Bass told School Board members in July that including audio brings up a “whole new layer” of considerations and concerns.

“That whole audio issue is very murky ground from a legal point of view and ascertaining who said what, and what was really said,” Bass said.

Video recordings will serve as a deterrent to mischief, Roxanne Wilson, the assistant school superintendent, told board members.

“You have it as a back up,” she said. “For 90 percent of the cases, you don’t need it. For the 10 percent that you do, it does help an administrator, I think, do their job.”

Bruce Anderson, a School Board member, noted that using cameras can help in potential situations more serious than kids picking on each other – such as an estranged parent who attempts to kidnap their child from a bus.

The decision to put cameras on buses was supported by Coish, Anderson, Al Letizio Jr. and Beth Valentine.

Beverly Donovan voted against doing so.

Donovan said she is concerned that, as policy is currently written, recordings would be erased after only 10 school days unless a request was made to obtain them. Donovan said sometimes bullying does not get immediately reported, and school officials may not become aware of a situation until after 10 days has passed.

“Probably a majority of the bullying incidents are verbal in nature,” she said. “A video recording is not going to capture that. Realistically, how much is this going to do for us? It’s a nice thing to have, it’s not a bad thing. I don’t know if it’s a necessary thing.”

According to Wilson, the school district can use some Safe and Drug Free Schools grant money to cover the equipment cost.

The school board receives reports on bullying incidents from principals each month. Information includes the nature of the incidents.

“There appears to be one bus that has more problems than the others,” Coish said.