HAMPTON FALLS — The local school district warrant may have only five questions for voters to address in March, but two of them are weighty. They include another try at floating a bond to pay for a school expansion, plus a proposed school budget that’s higher than usual.
This is the sixth attempt the Hampton Falls School Board is making to pass a bond to improve the Lincoln Akerman School. But this time instead of a $6- or $7-million bond amount, the much-trimmed-down bond total is $3,999,531 to pay for most of the cost of building solely a new classroom addition.
Gone are the new gymnasium and other improvements, like creating a separate cafeteria and new parking lot.
The bond, if passed, is estimated to add 65-cents per $1,000 of assessed value to property tax bills for local residents and businesses.
But, the true estimated cost of constructing the new classroom building is $4.4 million. The required remaining $400,000 had to be placed in the district’s operating budget for the 2018/19 school year if the project is to move forward. The result is an almost 9.4 percent increase in the proposed school budget for the coming year.
The unorthodox financing method of adding a portion of the capital cost of construction to the annual school operating budget was developed after the School Board worked with a private citizens group, some of whom supported the project, but many of whom historically fought it. The group was formed at the suggestion of Selectman Larry Smith. It met this fall in hopes of hammering out a compromise, the upshot of which would be the passage of the bond this time around.
Without that extra $400,000, however, Hampton Falls’ proposed school operating budget wouldn’t show much of an increase, according to SAU 21 Business Administrator Matt Ferreira. With it, plus the costs of contractual salaries raises, increases in employee insurance and retirement benefits, and special education requirements, the budget is above what local voters are accustomed to witnessing for the local school district.
The cap of $3.99 million for the bond came from a promise given by those on the private citizens group who’d fought the school expansion in the past. According to School Board Chairman Mark Lane, they promised not to fight the bond this year, as long it was less than $4 million.
The process may pay off, for at the recent Jan. 11 public hearing on both the bond question and the budget there were few questions or comments. Those that were made were neither negative nor confrontational, something Lane found encouraging.
“This is way easier than years past,” Lane told those gathered at the hearing. “I hope that’s a good sign.”
A glance at the line items for the school’s proposed budget show it’s at $6,522,319, or $558,042 more than this year’s budget. The $400,000 for the classroom addition makes up about two-thirds of the budget increase, and equals six percent of the overall school budget.
Members of the private citizens group include School Board members Lane and Greg Parish, as well as members of SAU 21 staff and the contractors involved in the project. Private citizens include Stacy Kinnaly, George Koch III, Scott Almeda, Charlyn Brown, Don Janik, Alex Dittami, Tim Samway, Steve Valpone, Will Lojeck, and Tony Franciosa, Lane said.
Lane thanked all those who participated for their time and efforts, saying there are many things upon which everyone agreed. They included belief the school needed more classroom and learning space to accommodate students, new curricula, special needs programs and the demands of future educational needs.
The group decided the new addition will include a music room large enough to accommodate students and storage for instruments, as well as new classrooms for grades three through five that are of sufficient size to meet student needs. It will allow for some vacated space to be transformed into a language classroom and lab for the teaching of Spanish, currently taught from a cart.
Projects not included in this $4.4 million cost include converting vacated space into a modern science lab ($130,000), making a separate cafeteria ($230,000), a new gym HVAC system and athletic gym floor ($110,000), and new parking lot ($200,000).
Upon the recommendation of the private citizens group, the cost of these projects will individually be incorporated into questions for future district warrants and/or future school budgets.
The warrant also requests approval of a new, two-year collective bargaining contract for the members of the Seacoast Education Support Personnel Association. Most of those in the union work with the town’s special needs students. The cost of the 2.5 and 2.75 percent increases will be $14,008 the first year and $11,775 the second.
The two remaining questions ask for $25,000 each to fund the school district’s Special Education and Maintenance Expendable Trust funds.
Before Election Day on March 13, voters have a chance to weigh in on the school district warrant and budget at the district’s deliberative session on Feb. 8, which takes place at 7 p.m. at LAS.