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Rockingham, Vt., School Board Approves School Renovation Plans

Posted on: Saturday, 24 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 24--ROCKINGHAM -- The Rockingham School Board approved final plans Thursday evening for a proposed $7 million renovation project at the Saxtons River and Central Elementary schools.

The plans will now be sent to the state for final review while the school board prepares for a public meeting on the project next Tuesday at the Saxtons River School.

The meeting will be the first of four the school board has planned leading up to the Nov. 8 bond vote.

School officials and the project's architect, Jay Barrett, seemed confident Thursday the plans would meet with public approval.

"I don't have any problems pitching this with a straight face and telling people there is really no fluff in this thing," Barrett said on Thursday.

The project will add about 8,100 square feet to Central Elementary and about 9,000 square feet to Saxtons River.

Barrett has been revising the plans after Cathy Hilgendorf, a school construction consultant with the state Department of Education, said the plans needed further revisions before the state could reimburse the district for 50 percent of the cost.

A provision in Vermont's education funding law allows schools to receive extra money for projects that help with school or district consolidation.

Both Saxtons River and Central added about 30 students each this year after the school board closed the Cherry Hill School at the end of last year.

Taxpayers would pay no more than $3 million for the project, school officials said. Officials hope to secure even more state money in addition to the 50 percent reimbursement by installing a wood chip boiler in the Saxtons River School.

The state will fund up to 90 percent of projects that promote renewable energy, School Board Chairman Peter Golec said.

The state needs to be satisfied the project will pay for itself over a 25 to 30 year period before it will sign off on the 90 percent reimbursement, Barrett said, but with spiking fuel costs, the boiler looks to be the least costly option for heating the school.

"With the sharp increases in energy costs, this looks very promising," Barrett said.

The only other heating options would be propane or oil, Barrett said.

The school board will have to pitch the plan on Tuesday without firm estimates on the cost. The board chose an estimator on Thursday, but Golec said the figures will not be ready until the Oct. 11 informational meeting at Central Elementary School.

The final two meetings will be held at Bellows Falls Middle School on Oct. 24 and Nov. 7.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Eagle Times, Claremont, N.H.

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Source: Eagle Times, Claremont, New Hampshire

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