By Jodi Wolfe
Staff Writer

The size of an addition to Epsom Central School and the timing of paying for such an addition were concerns addressed at a public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

In March, voters will decide whether to approve the 10-year bond for the $ 6,782,585 cost of construction with a 4.5 percent interest rate that the Epsom School Board is proposing.

Some worried about whether the addition included enough classrooms for the coming years. The plan includes eight classrooms, a new heating system, a new cafeteria and an expanded library.

“We felt eight classrooms would take care of us for 10 years,” building committee member Don Harty said.

The addition would allow the school to have a capacity of 725 students. Currently there are 511 students, and projections show there could be 725 students in 10 years, said Harty.

“The numbers that we have show that that should be sufficient,” said Frank Catanese, chairman of the building committee.

Having current residents pay for future needs concerned Catanese. Adding more classrooms would mean that Epsom residents would be paying now for families who haven’t moved into town yet, he said. If another addition is needed, the town should wait until those families move in and start paying taxes.

“That’s just a conservative approach to a problem that was addressed 13 years ago,” Catanese said, referring to the last addition to the school.

Others were concerned about the addition’s effect on the tax rate, said Harty.

The bond is expected to add $3.89 to the tax rate in the highest year and $2.34 in the last year of the bond, said Catanese.

In 1992, when 11 classrooms and a gym were added on to the school, the addition cost $1.985 million, but the town only received 30 percent aid from the state. At that time, the tax rate was $3.03 in the highest year and $2.10 in the last year, said Catanese. This year’s proposed addition will not affect people’s taxes much more than the last addition did, said Harty.

“The state aid has been locked in at 40 percent, provided it passes this year,” said Catanese.

If the bond doesn’t pass, the state will set another rate next year.

“This is a real good time to be doing this because the state is giving us 40 percent,” Harty said.

Bond rates are also down, Harty said.

During the public hearing, the building committee also addressed how to get information about the proposed bond to the community. The town has a population of 4,000, with 1,700 registered voters, but only 30 people came to the public hearing.

Half of those 30 people were members of the building committee, said Harty.

“We hate to think that 1,700 come to vote and only 200 are informed,” said Harty.

The building committee will be making presentations on the addition around town, including at planning board meeting and KingsTowne Mobile Home Park. The committee also plans to stand in front of local businesses such as the Epsom House of Pizza and Epsom Circle Market to talk about the proposed addition.

The deliberative session of the School District Meeting will take place Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m., at Epsom Central School.