Jackson school expansion plan draws 125 citizens

At least one Jackson School Board member declined to promise that a $4 million plan to roughly triple the size of facilities at the Jackson Grammar School site would require only one bond, as board members explained the proposal to 125 citizens at a Dec. 6 meeting.Resident Henry Mock wanted a guarantee."If we pass this bond issue," he said, "can we be assured it is the one and only bond issue we will be asked for? Can you guarantee it tonight?""I don't know," Peter Benson, of the school board, said. "... I'm more confident in these numbers than others that have come before me. I can tell you we only want to do the building once and and only want to do one bond."During the nearly 75-minute question-and-answer session, town moderator Bill Kelley pointed out that the meeting, held at Jackson Town Hall, violated the current fire code, offering that fact as "one more reason" a community center might be necessary.School and town officials met last month to review plans for a new Whitney Center, which will provide municipal meeting and performance space for the school and town, and an expansion of the grammar school to comply with stdate mandates.The proposed new construction nearly triples what is there. The current grammar school is about 5,000 square feet in size. Total new construction would be about 9,200 square feet. In the latest plans, officials agreed to downsize the Whitney Center, reducing the building's size by 20 percent.The cost of the project, which school board and school facilities committee members have been working on for nearly two years, is just shy of $4 million. The Dec. 6 meeting was the first of three planned public hearings (there will be similar meetings in January and February, too).Citizens learned there are currently 57 students in the grammar school; the addition would handle up to 75 students; currently 15 percent of the student body is made up of special needs children. Resident Bob Temple asked for a show of hands from people who had children in the school. Twenty people raised their hands."The rest of us represent the town," he said. "... When are you going to put that Gray's Inn property (purchased by the town) up for sale? We paid $1 for it plus interest for the last 10 years. We've got to get something out of it or else we're pissing it down the drain."One resident pointed out the community not only "needs to look out for the current students" but "future generations as well," but she questioned why the community center needs to be so large."We're looking long term," Kelley responded. "Tonight, in this building, we're illegal we're at capacity for fire codes in this building. ... The problem we have in this town is we didn't plan for the future. We need to look 25-50 years down the road."Resident Ray Abbott pointed out he served on the school board in the 1970s when Betty Whitney led an effort to close the grammar school."It seems a little odd to me that her name is going to be attached to the school," he said with a grin. "... I have a problem with this. The children are not staying in this town because it's too expensive to live here. Think about how many children live in this town that came out of here 10 years ago."Upon learning that Jackson does not have a school nurse five days a week, Abbott asked why a room was needed for such a person."It's because kids get hurt and sick five days a week," Benson said."I think it's important to think about the impact to all of the children in (the Jackson Grammar School)," grammar school principal Anne Kebler said.The board was asked about sending the fifth and sixth grades to Josiah Bartlett Elementary School, where the seventh and eighth graders from Jackson currently attend. Benson pointed out Jackson starts its grammar school 30 minutes ahead of any other elementary school in Mount Washington Valley, plus with additional time on the school bus the fifth or sixth graders would lose five hours of school time a week. "Look at what we have here," Benson said. "We have challenges here, but our educational quality is second to none in the valley or in the state for that matter."Kebler explained the academic need for additional space in the school. She said in 2004, the school received conditional accreditation approval from the state because it lacked space for special education meetings; and did not provide heated meals."At the end of three years we are supposed to report we have met the recommendations," Kebler said. "We are now into our third year."Angus Badger, chair of the school board, offered an overview of how the board arrived at the point of holding its hearing."We created a school facilities committee in April of 2005 with the charge of looking at a physical plan that will meet the needs of several entities, not just the school," Badger said. "We are very much interested in developing a consensus in the community. This is the first of three hearings designed into molding something that will pass (at annual district meeting in March where a two-thirds majority is needed for passage)."In July 2005, Kebler said the school district learned it needs to provide a dedicated space for a nurse within the building.At present, art and music are held upstairs in the old wing of the school. Students must walk through two classrooms to get upstairs. Special ed and occupational therapy are also located in the same area as music and art, using a supply closet while guidance is held in a cloak room."If you're providing one to one instruction in math or reading three days a week you are competing with a student learning how to play the piano or the drums," Kebler said.John Pepper, a trustee for the Betty Whitney Trust, said the trust, which will supply $1 million toward the construction project, felt with the state requirements for school space that it makes sense to tie the recreation center in with the school."We didn't want to duplicate the effort," he said. "... If no center is ever built the income from the trust would go to other programs and other things taking place in town."Kelley, who served on the facilities committee and was on the school board the last time an addition was put on the school in the 1980s, said the committee has worked tirelessly looking at options. He pointed out the state will soon no longer allow state and federal elections to be held in the current town hall because it lacks restrooms and running water."We have to face the fact we need some type of facility for the town," Kelley said. "... We've looked at every opportunity to bring this together. ... This is the best opportunity to keep this community at a centrally located point and from an economic standpoint it made sense to keep everything together. Keep in mind, anything we do to that (school) this is probably our last shot, according to the state. We might have done more in the '80s if we had had a crystal ball. We've come up with what we feel is a very good plan."Under the plan recommended by the facilities committee, the Trickey Barn, located in the rear of the school building, would not be used, as it is not considered serviceable for a gym or town meeting center. The barn, built in 1885, would be removed from the site, but it won't be leaving town. Thanks to an agreement between the school board and library trustees, the barn would be relocated and become library property.Architect David Laurin, of Banwell Architects, thinks the project can work."It was a good challenge to try to blend the needs of the community and the school on this site."Laurin said the recreation center's multi-purpose room could seat up to 200 for a community dinner or 350 people for a town hall meeting or a community play.Under the proposed construction budget, submitted Nov. 20 by Banwell Architects, site improvements will cost $430,000 $300,000 in construction; $60,000 in contingency fees; and $70,000 in engineering and permitting fees.Building costs are $2,869,000, which includes $2,587,200 in new construction (9,240 square feet at $280 per square foot); $31,200 in sprinkler system renovations (7,800 square feet at $4 per square foot); $15,600 for fire alarm installation; and $200,000 in interior renovations.There is a $300,000 contingency. Other costs include: $275,000 in architectural and engineering fees; $50,000 in furniture and equipment; $20,000 in administrative costs/permits; $10,000 in construction testing; $40,000 for a clerk of the works; and $5,000 for Builder's Risk Insurance.The total cost of the project is $3,999,000. With funding from the Whitney Trust along with 30 percent state building aid, the overall cost to Jackson taxpayers would be $1,196,000, officials estimated. School Superintendent Carl Nelson drew up a 20-year bond costs to present at the public hearing."I get the delightful job of telling you how much this is going to cost," he said, smiling. He explained "in a worst case scenario" the bond would be an additional 72 cents per $1,000 of property valuation while in the worst year it would be an additional 27 cents in operation costs (cleaning custodial staff, maintenance staff, equipment, cleaning supplies, electricity, water/sprinkler, oil and general building maintenance). The annual cost for a $200,000 home would be $198 per year. The final year of the bond payment would be 31 cents per $1,000 of property valuation.Education editor Lloyd Jones can be contacted at lloyd@conwaydailysun.com.