By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

If the weather permits, ground could be broken on the new middle school as early as the first quarter of 2006, said Superintendent of Schools Christine Tyrie.

Currently, the school district is dealing with nuts and bolts issues, such as attending a bond sale in order to raise money for the school and filling out paperwork, she said.

By late fall, Tyrie hopes to hire a construction manager or a general contractor. She estimates the town will see a groundbreaking for the new middle school by April 2006.

In the meantime, the district is equally focusing efforts to improve the conditions at Weare Middle School, where students must endure another two years until the new middle school opens in the fall of 2007.

"The students are not as depressed about it now," said Tyrie. "They see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

Parents and students have long complained about the conditions at the current middle school. At last year.s deliberative session, concerned parents came out in droves to support the building of the new school, calling the current facilities dangerous and a poor learning atmosphere.

"The district just hired a new head of Building and Grounds," said Tyrie. "He will present a plan in May on how to keep the (current) middle school open and functioning."

The new school will be built at the same spot where the current middle school is located, which will require demolition of the current facility. However, demolition cannot begin until the summer before the new school is to open.

Tyrie said middle school students will obviously require use of the facilities until the new school opens.

Asbestos abatement and furnishing the new building will also be required at the new site. Tyrie said another issue surrounding the school is availability of fields and grounds for students to use for athletics during the construction and demolition processes.

"The site is small, so we need to make sure students have the opportunity to play on the fields until the new school is ready."

Tyrie said she intends to meet with parents of future students at the school and keep them in the loop during the process of building the new school.

The district extended an invitation to former members of the Weare Advocates to the Tuesday, April 19, school board meeting.

Currently, the district is in the process of securing a permit from the state Department of Environmental Services, creating an approved septic plan and having a study done by the state Department of Transportation. Tyrie said the school's design team is also taking part in preconstruction testing on the site.

When finished, the new middle school will cover 131,000 square feet and house 920 students. The price tag for the school is estimated at $18 million, which includes all construction costs, demolition of the current facility, asbestos abatement and furnishings.

The new Weare middle school was easily the largest issue on this past year's school ballot. The school passed 1,452-560 at the March 8 election and has long been considered a necessity by a large percentage of the community.