RUMFORD – The SAD 43 board on Monday voted to spend up to $205,000 for renovations to Virginia and Meroby elementary schools as part of the restructuring plan for elementary students in the fall.
It also decided to act on a tentative plan to house several hundred thousand dollars in fitness equipment obtained through a federal grant on the Aug. 1 board agenda.
Only the new Rumford board member, Rick Gauvin, voted against spending the $205,000 from the K-8 Capital Improvement Reserve Account to reconfigure some of the classrooms at Virginia and Meroby elementary schools.
The board voted in January to end the use of VES as an elementary school. The 110 pupils will be sent to MES or Rumford Elementary School in the fall. A nonbinding straw poll in June supported the board decision.
The Virginia school will instead be used to house special education students in the Pennacook Day Treatment Program.
An active parent organization circulated a petition that it had hoped would keep the small, neighborhood school functioning as an elementary school. The group had also argued during the past few months that offering elementary education in a small school was more beneficial to pupils because of the caring attitude available.
The district’s position is that the cost of maintaining three elementary schools while losing student population is unnecessary. Both Rumford and Meroby elementary schools were designed to house at least 100 more pupils than the current enrollments, said Superintendent Jim Hodgkin.
To accommodate the VES children, several building changes must be made at Meroby. Because VES will house the district’s day treatment program, some of the full-sized classrooms will be converted to smaller, special education offices and counseling sites.
Hodgkin said the district’s alternative education program, now housed in the Mexico Recreation Center, will be moved to a section of the Central Office, also in Mexico. Previously, some consideration had been given to moving those students to VES as well.
Tim Gallant, director of building and grounds, said work began on the renovations to the two elementary schools soon after classes let out in June.
Following an hour-long discussion, the board agreed to act at its August meeting on a proposal to house fitness equipment. Board member Frank DiConzo had headed up an ad hoc committee to organize a plan to build a fitness center and possibly a pool for use by both high school students and the community.
As was discussed Monday, the board will act on the possible construction of a 30-by-100-foot building to house the equipment for use by students, provided funding can be raised at no cost to the district.
“If we vote on that, and vote it down, then we can go on to the next option,” said Hodgkin.
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