By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

Candia residents said they would like to see renovations to the existing Henry W. Moore School facilities and more community involvement toward the issue, and urged school board members to find a plan for the school that will address space issues. The facilities committee also said that the option of a coop school with a border town is not likely at this time.

The school board and the facilities committee listened to resident comments about the three options to address space issues at Moore School - a co-op with another town, renovations to the existing facilities and construction of a new building - at a public forum at the school on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Though all of the residents did not agree on specific elements of the plans for the school, they all agreed that something must be done soon to address the needs of Moore's student body.

"The most important issue - forget the taxes - is that we chose to live in this town because it is a nice area," said resident Debbie Bussiere. "Our number one priority should be our children."

School board member Bill Zarges said the current building is a poor learning atmosphere for the school's students.

"We have a 1938 building," he said. "We can do nothing. There are heating and cooling issues - in the winter, you could be freezing in one classroom and dying (from heat) in the gym."

Facilities Committee Chairman David Fischer outlined the necessary immediate repairs for the current facility, which included the addition of heating and cooling zones, installing a new boiler and upgrading the electrical system to accommodate modern usage. He said short-term repairs will cost about $150,000, which the school board voted for unanimously. He said these repairs will not cover other school problems, including classroom space needs, a bigger gym and more space for special education classes, storage and the nurse's office.

At the March election, $7 million worth of renovations were proposed in a warrant article on the town ballot, but that proposal was rejected by voters.

At the Sept. 20 meeting, facilities committee members told residents the option for a cooperative school with a border town is not likely. The committee contacted a number of local towns, including Auburn, Hooksett and Deerfield, but none of them expressed interest in sharing facilities.

"There was no sense of urgency with a timeline (for the other towns) - nothing was in sync with what we need here," said Kathy Berger, of the committee. Resident Mary Phillips said she believes that although voters rejected the proposed renovations at the last election, they will favor fixing the current facilities over constructing a new building.

"I think people will tend to lean toward renovation because of what happened (at the last election)," she said. "A new building will be too much for the taxpayers."

Residents, board members and facilities committee members all expressed concern about the turnout of only about 15 residents at the forum.

"I hope enough people get involved," said Phillips. "If I am here, everyone else should be here. It is easy to find an excuse not to come out."

The next forum will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20, in the Moore School gymnasium. Fischer said the facilities committee will present realistic pricing for the different options to the board at that time. Zarges said he hopes people will spread the word about the meeting and get the whole community involved.

"The gym holds 156 people," he said. "We'd love the fire chief to come and tell us we are over capacity."

The facilities committee will make its recommendation on which option to pursue at the school board's November meeting. The board will make a decision on the three options.