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Committee endorses renovation/expansion
New two-story addition would house middle school kids
  
by Brendan Berube
Staff Writer / Baysider
 
 ABOVE IS THE current plan for an on-site renovation and expansion of Barnstead Elementary School. The existing main entrance is located at the bottom center of the drawing, with an expanded administrative office area, a new gymnasium and new rooms for the school’s Art, Industrial Arts, Music, Family and Consumer Science and Health programs to the right of the entrance. The proposed middle school addition (with the second floor layout at the upper right-hand corner) is located at the left rear portion of the drawing, where the school’s “D” wing currently stands. Grades five and six would be housed on the second floor of the addition, with grades seven and eight on the first. (Courtesy Photo) (click for larger version)

November 22, 2007
BARNSTEAD — After months of researching options for solving space needs issues at Barnstead Elementary School, the school board's Space Needs Committee has decided to support an on-site renovation and expansion of the existing school.

Committee Chair Michelle Rosado explained during a public forum on the proposed renovation project Nov. 14 that cheaper construction costs; the possibility of state building aid for refurbished windows, asbestos removal, and new wiring; the potential administrative costs involved in building a new school; and the chance to preserve the school's designation as an elementary school all factored into the committee's decision to stick with the existing facility.

The owner of the campground behind the school, she said, agreed to a "land swap" that will allow the school to "square off" the rear portion of the existing lot and eliminate the right-of-way that currently runs between the two properties.

The plan, according to Rosado, is to level off the newly acquired land with fill from elsewhere on the property and to demolish the school's existing "D" wing (where the cafeteria is located) to make room for a new two-story addition that would house grades five and six on the second floor and grades seven and eight on the first.

The new addition, Rosado said, would also create space for shared teaching areas, where classes could be combined for lessons on similar topics, as well as a new media center and new areas for specialty programs such as speech therapy.

The main portion of the building, near the main entrance, would also be extensively renovated to make room for a new gymnasium, expanded administrative offices, new rooms for Art, Industrial Arts, Health and Family and Consumer Sciences, and a new music room, complete with a stage, located just outside the gym.

The kindergarten, pre-school and primary classrooms would remain where they are currently located, she said, though that part of the building would also be renovated to create a new maintenance area.

In response to resident Judy Chase's concerns about the availability of bathrooms in the primary wing, Rosado explained that there would still be a bathroom located within each classroom, though they would be outfitted with more modern equipment.

Outside the school, a new service road would be created, beginning at the side of the building and continuing around back to the cafeteria, which would be used as a drop-off point for students in the primary grades.

The access road, Rosado said, would create a new entrance and route for buses and would clear the loop in front of the main entrance for use as a parent drop-off.

The exterior renovations, she added, would also help to alleviate existing parking problems at the school by creating a total of 120 spaces for faculty, staff and visitors.

If approved, she said, the project would be completed in phases over a period of 18 to 24 months and would enable the school to serve a maximum capacity of 850 students.

Questioning the accuracy of that projection given the current population trend in Barnstead, Bill Haynes, who chairs the town's Municipal Space Needs Committee, asked where Rosado's demographics had come from.

Rosado replied that the Space Needs Committee based their projections on the SAU Planning Committee's 2006 report, which predicted a 14 percent growth rate over the next 20 years.

A still skeptical Haynes urged the Space Needs Committee to take a second look at their information.

"Eight-fifty is pretty high," he said.

Haynes also asked what the committee planned to do with the school-owned property on Hannah Nutter Road (which had previously been proposed as a possible site for a new school) now that they had settled on a renovation/expansion as the best solution.

Why, he asked, could that site not be sold to offset the cost of the proposed renovation project?

Principal Tim Rice explained that the committee intends to hold onto the Hannah Nutter site as a potential future site for a new high school.

If the student population at Barnstead Elementary does eventually swell to the projected number of 850, Rice said, the school would be sending an average of 100 students to Prospect Mountain High School each year, meaning that the high school would also be "maxed out."

It is important, he said, for the district to "have something to fall back on" in the event that Alton attempts to buy out Barnstead's interest in the Prospect Mountain Joint Maintenance Agreement.

A resident who said he had initially supported the idea of a new middle school asked what measures would be taken to keep the younger students separated from their older counterparts.

Rosado replied that students at all grade levels would have their own areas of the building, their own classroom space and their own restroom facilities.

Rice explained the philosophy behind preserving the status of Barnstead Elementary as a K-8 school. Middle school students, he said, might be more inclined to be on their best behavior knowing that their younger brothers and sisters attend school in the same building.

"The older kids are often heroes to the younger kids," he said.

Chase said her primary concern was not so much keeping students segregated during the day as separating them on the buses. She supported the idea of separate drop-off points for students at various grade levels and commended school staff and administrators for "doing a good job" of keeping the older and younger students segregated, given the size of the existing school.

Selectman Gordon Preston asked how administrators were planning to staff the additional classrooms and offices called for in the current plan.

"Twenty years of operating budget dwarfs the cost of buildings," he said.

Rice replied that the administration would be "conservative in the addition of new staff."

There would be no reason, Rice said, to fill every new classroom on the heels of a bond. New staff, he explained, would be hired on an as-needed basis.

After verifying that the project would go out to bid, Haynes asked whether the Space Needs Committee had a projected cost in mind.

Rosado explained that the renovation design had been finished a week or two before the forum, so cost information was not available just yet. She promised, however, to release potential figures as soon as the committee had them.

Soft costs, such as furniture, would be included in the bid, she added.

By comparison, the Alton School Board's Buildings and Grounds Committee recently estimated that a renovation and expansion of the Alton Central School would cost around $13 million.

Dan Bisson, president of Team Design, Inc. (the architectural firm contracted to design the renovation/expansion plan) said that state building aid is now up to around 45 percent.

Rebates are also available through Public Service of New Hampshire, he said, for features designed to increase energy efficiency.

Resident Eileen Murley applauded the Space Needs Committee for their efforts to develop a plan that would address a wide range of concerns. She added, however, that as a voter, she felt torn between the school's needs and those of "another space needs committee in town."

Why, she asked, were the school's needs considered separately from the town's?

"How can you convince me of this" when voters are sure to face another expensive proposal from the town next year, she asked.

Rosado explained that the Space Needs Committee "feels an obligation to provide the children of this town with the best education possible."

While the committee is aware of the town's needs, she said, the school is a much different facility, facing much more pressing issues.

School board member Kathy Preston reminded those present at the forum that the school currently serves a population of around 600 students.

"That's a big number of people who need to be accommodated," she said.

 

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