The Hooksett Banner ­ March 4, 2004

This week's stories: (click on the headline to jump to story)

'Middle towns' feel the squeeze PA gears up for FIRST Will library pass? School budget, land transfer up for vote Police officer could be made permanent Fire truck, school budget up for approval March 9 Bus monitors, budget on tap for March 9 meeting SB2 to be voted on March 9, School Meeting is March 6 Boys and Girls Club welcomes kids back Former town councilor Don Duford dies at 66

Are you interested in chatting about Hooksett issues? Want to help plan Hooksett's future? Check out the new Internet chat group begun by the master plan committee at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hooksett_chat/ Auburn has a similar group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/auburn/

We have listed the warrants and candidates in advance of elections on March 9 so you can see them before the vote. Election results will be posted as soon as we get them on the night of March 9. See your town's warrants here: Hooksett School, Hooksett Town (for May elections), Allenstown, Auburn, Candia, Epsom and Pembroke.

School Funding

'Middle towns' feel the squeeze

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Scott Gross has a bad case of middle sibling syndrome.

As it becomes evident that the state's first attempt to fix education funding following the Claremont decision hasn't worked and that changes must be made, the Goffstown School Board chairman feels his school district has been left behind.

When it comes to property values ­ a key factor in determining how much money a town will get in state adequacy aid ­ Goffstown is the proverbial middle child: It's neither particularly rich nor particularly poor.

New law This past fall, when a new piece of legislation called House Bill 608 was passed in an effort to remedy some flaws in the way the state funds education, there seemed to be something in it for the wealthy towns and for the poor towns. But Goffstown was left out in the cold. Dubbed the Gatsas Plan after its chief architect, state Sen. Ted Gatsas (R-Manchester), HB 608 was intended to eliminate donor towns ­ wealthy communities that pump money into the pot but get none back ­ and address the needs of poorer communities such as Allenstown and Claremont. "The reason why it was created was that everything you heard in Concord is, 'We have to get more money to the towns that need it and attempt to get rid of the donor communities," Gatsas said recently. The state adequacy grants are funded by a statewide property tax. But under the new legislation that tax has been cut from $5.80 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $4.92 this year and $3.24 next year. With less money available, it got that much harder to create a system that doesn't burden wealthy towns but gives more help to needy communities. To accomplish these goals, Gatsas said, some money had to be taken "away from the wealthier communities like the Bedfords." Bedford is considered more affluent than most towns, but because it is still below the highest echelon of towns on the property-value spectrum, it will receive $3.3 million in aid this year. Many believe that money, and money sent to districts similar to Bedford, could be better spent elsewhere. The only problem with this thinking, Gross said, is towns like Goffstown ­ not poor enough to get more money and not wealthy enough to get relief ­ are being lumped in with towns like Bedford. Next year, for example, Bedford will lose about $1 million and Goffstown will lose $1.1 million. Gross said while Bedford, which has far more commercial development than Goffstown, can handle the hit better than Goffstown, his community will struggle to make up the money through local property taxes. "It's a dollar more on the tax rate ­ that's huge," Gross said. "You certainly cannot group towns like Goffstown and Bedford in the same category, because we're in totally different parts of the funding spectrum." Epsom gets hit Back in December, when school boards were devising their proposed budgets, Epsom's School Board Chairman Don Harty was very blunt about the changes in the adequacy formula. Under HB 608, Epsom, which falls even lower than Goffstown on the scale of assessed property value, will lose almost $170,000 in aid. "We're getting clobbered," Harty said at the time. As March 9 approaches, Harty is concerned about how voters will react to the cut in aid. "It wasn't hard putting together a budget. What's going to be hard is selling it," he said. "We've kept the budget at pretty much the bare minimum every year, but for a budget that's not going up very much (this year), the tax impact is going to be huge." There is fear of what may happen when state aid is doled out this year, which forces many budgetary questions. A Senate committee studying the Gatsas Plan has recommended that changes be made. Gatsas himself has sponsored a Senate bill to tweak some of the concerns. It is widely expected that the final decision on what, if any, changes should be made will come in June during conference committees in the Legislature. Middle towns unite Towns like Goffstown and Epsom are not standing idly by. Both communities have joined an organization called Coalition for Adequate Education Funding ­ a group of 67 of the so-called middle towns. The group is co-chaired by Marilyn Peterman, an Amherst selectman, and former Danville Selectman Mike Asselin. Asselin said the group was formed in response to a number of wealthy towns who had created the Coalition of Communities ­ communities which joined forces to lobby for tax relief. The prime purpose for the coalition, Asselin said, is to give all the other towns a voice in Concord. Gross said Goffstown joined because it was sick of being left out of the mix when legislative decisions were made. "The reason Goffstown joined is there's power in numbers," he said, "And we and many other middle class and poor communities believe education funding is not being distributed on a fair basis. We want to see a methodology that is fair to all towns and will work for everyone." No more 'Robin Hood' Despite the criticisms that his plan unfairly takes money from the middle towns ­ even after it gets tweaked ­ Gatsas has maintained the plan is fair. He said the formula was devised in a way that targets certain districts with particularly tough problems ­ high special education costs, large numbers of English as a Second Langauge students ­ yet still gets rid of the Robin Hood system of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Gatsas suggests that some of the opposition to even a revised version of HB 608 is that it does take money from someone, and no one ever wants to hear that.

Back to pre-Claremont levels? By RUSS CHOMA Staff Writer rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com At a recent Hopkinton Budget Committee meeting, some striking statistics were presented. In the last 10 years, the town's population has grown about 14 percent. The school system's population has grown 9 percent. And the size of the school budget has gone from just about $10 million to this year's proposed $17 million ­ an increase of 77 percent. Committee member Gary Todd told his fellow budget committee members that with economic conditions as they are, he didn't see the need for that kind of spending on schools. "Everyone else seems to have to bite the bullet ­ at work, at home, especially with these economic circumstances," he said. "I just feel the school keeps growing and growing, and I don't feel it needs to keep growing." Capping spending Hopkinton's school budget is by no means unique. School budgets are growing at a much faster pace than almost any other indicator. When House Bill 608 ­ the so-called Gatsas Plan ­ was passed in an effort to make the state's education-funding methods more equitable, a key factor was a limit on spending increases. Under HB 608, and every other option currently being considered, a cap has been established that attaches growth in state education aid to growth in the consumer price index ­ the estimated cost of living. The message was clear ­ after the year 2005, local school districts can increase their spending all they want, but the state's not going to increase its spending more than the average person might. But can it be done? "It's pretty obvious the cost of education will go up faster than the (state) grants," said Rep. Neal Kurk of Weare, the chairman of the House Finance Committee and an opponent of HB 608. Kurk said allowing the increases in state funding to local communities to be uncapped also isn't the way to solve the long-term problem of burgeoning education costs. "Frankly, the only way a community can deal with that is to make sure a budget grows no more than the rate of inflation, which means keeping your labor costs and your equipment costs down," Kurk said. "Sometimes, you can't do that, but you can do some of it." Hopkinton Superintendent Richard Ayers takes issue with HB 608. "I don't believe it is a realistic plan," he said. "School district (budgets) have many variables that relate to their increases that aren't predictable enough to tie to a cost of living increase." Ayers said his district's school board was very aware of the spending increases, but said capital improvements, special education and personnel costs are some of the variables driving increases. Health insurance costs more Personnel costs have always been a key source of budget increases. A number of regional school boards reported health insurance premiums increasing between 18 and 25 percent per year on a regular basis. Ayers said to combat this type of increase, the board was actively seeking bids to lower health insurance costs. But with a diminishing pool of qualified applicants and stricter staff requirements under No Child Left Behind, capping salary increases could be a major challenge. One of the biggest opponents of the cost-of-living cap is Mike Asselin, co-chairman of the Coalition for Adequate Education Funding, a loose organization of 67 communities lobbying against HB 608. "(The cap) will turn out to be a major problem," Asselin said. In fact, he said it will be a bigger problem than the cuts in overall aid over the next two years. Back to the local taxpayers This upcoming year, the state will supply $428 million, which pays for around 21 percent of local communities' education costs. According to Asselin, the HB 608 will steadily shift the cost of education back to local taxpayers. By 2009, he predicts, the state will pay just 14 percent. "And it's going to keep decreasing year after year after that," he said. "Before you know it, we'll be back to where we started before the Claremont case, with the state paying only 8 percent."

"If this formula were put in place four years ago, before anyone got one dollar, the distribution formula would've worked and everyone would've been happy," Gatsas said. "But like with any change, as soon as someone says, 'I'm getting less money,' they don't want it. But this formula may be the best formula when you look at it in its entirety."

No money to give back

Don Harty disagrees. In fact, he bristles at the idea that Epsom may be in any kind of position to turn over any money. Following two years of default budgets handed to the school board by voters who have said they just can't pay what the board wants, he is sure there is no money to spare in Epsom.

"The money is absolutely vital. We can't just say, 'Oh we're losing $150,000, we'll just cut some excess stuff,'" he said. "We just can't do that."

"Epsom is not a wealthy community, and it's not a poverty-stricken community. It just strikes me as an average working-class community that works hard for its money and its taxes," Harty said. "But still, there's a lot of people in town having trouble paying their tax bill. People are struggling to make ends meet and get their taxes paid. I've heard, more than a few times, people say, 'I support the school, I support what you're doing ­ but I just can't do this.'"

Ironically, on the other side of Concord, the town of Hopkinton, with well-funded schools and high-achieving students, is finding itself in a similar situation.

Hopkinton's struggle Hopkinton, which falls right around the state average in terms of property values, stands to lose $826,000 in aid under HB 608 and $466,000 under the revised version.	"The money is absolutely vital. We can't just say, 'Oh we're losing $150,000, we'll just cut some excess stuff. We just can't do that." ­ Don Harty Epsom School Board

According to Hopkinton Superintendent Richard Ayers, passing any more of the cost of education onto local taxpayers is problematic because they already have committed themselves more than many other communities.

"A portrait of the commitment that Hopkinton has to its schools is very evident in that they are already making a commitment that already far exceeds the state average," Ayer said, noting that Hopkinton spends slightly more than 73 percent of its tax dollars on education.

Though Hopkinton is not a member of the Coalition for Adequate Education Funding, Asselin hears what Ayers and many other in the mid-range towns are saying, and promises something will get done.

Politics or real help?

But when Ayers looks at the bills currently on the table, he is not happy. He sees a return to pre-Claremont conditions ­ rising local tax rates and consistently struggling schools.

"The communities that are the wealthiest in terms of property values are walking away with substantial tax reductions under HB 608 and (the proposed changes in) SB 302," Asselin said. "And I know the legislators will say, 'Oh, we're just adjusting the distribution formulas to be more fair,' but they're adjusting the formulas to meet political agendas."

In his effort to shake the feeling of the forgotten middle-child, Gross sees some value in one of the Gatsas Plan's largest rivals ­ a proposal from Rep. Norm Major of Plaistow. But even that doesn't inspire him much because while it's better for Goffstown, he still doesn't believe it's enough.

"My problem with both the Gatsas and Major plans is I don't think either one is a long-term solution to education funding. They're band-aid solutions," he said. "We're shortchanging the kids in the state and the taxpayers because we're not finding a long-term solution."

FIRST Competition

PA gears up for FIRST

By ALYSSA BAER Contributing Writer PEMBROKE ­ Murphy whizzed, whirled and wowed the audience as they witnessed it knock over balls and hoist itself up a large beam. The FIRST Robotics team, Team Discovery at Pembroke Academy, revealed its 2004 robot, "Murphy," to the community, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, preparing for the Granite State Regional Competition at the Verizon Wireless Arena March 4, 5 and 6. Team Discovery, along with other area high schools, received the information on the game Jan. 10; meetings and plans for production immediately began. Teams get six weeks to design and build their robots and determine their strategy in playing each year's game. Every team received the same challenge; this year, the game included knocking over "trip balls" that release other balls to be gathered and having the robot hoist itself up on a high beam. In the game, points are scored for being able to do certain tasks, such as hanging from the bar or putting balls into goals. The robot knocks trip-balls off their stands at the beginning of the game. The team installed a drive system that uses drill motors to move Murphy. The also robot has snow blower tracks that give it more power and grip.

HIGH TECH ­ Michelle Kelly and Brian Roche, part of Team Discovery at Pembroke Academy, make some adjustments to their robot, "Murphy." The team goes up against other area high schools at the Verizon Wireless Arena on March 4, 5 and 6. At its recent unveiling, Murphy displayed its ability to run briefly on its own and hang from a bar. (Alyssa Baer Photo)

"It's a complicated game," explained Team Discovery's director, founder and teacher David Kelly.
Student enthusiam for the project is high.

Senior Ryan Cumings of Allenstown has been with the team throughout high school. He emphasized this year's strengths versus years past.

"We have better technology (and are) more organized this year," he said. "Also, we have a better controller, and we don't have to worry about (html) code. It's not slow. We labeled all our wires this time, and we have a load test that shows which batteries are charged."

Batteries may seem like a minor problem, but "we went out last year with a dead battery," Cumings said, adding the issue was moe than a hassle.

But it was fundraising, not batteries, that dominated the students' minds the evening of Murphy's showcase. Fear of inadequate funding was illustrated by the thick fundraising pamphlets provided to community members. Many ended up strewn across the floor of Pembroke's auditorium.

Unlike school athletics, Team Discovery receives no direct funding from the school and relies solely on donations and sponsorships from the community.

"We did a lot of fundraising," said senior Tyrell Lemoine. "I hope we'll (be successful). We may be if we get enough money."
Cumings felt the same way, "We fundraised money, but we're still constantly strapped. What can you do?"

"We're completely self-sufficient. We rely on a lot of community support," said Bruce Lacaillade, team participant and parent of senior Chris Lacaillade. "We work all weekend. Parents come and bring meals to support the team. There's always great food out here. We don't have big-name sponsors like other (larger) teams. Some teams receive support from companies like NASCAR and DuPont."

Regardless of the team's hadicaps, Kelly sees 2004 as Team Discovery's most competitive year ever. "I think we're national contenders."

Epsom

Will library pass?

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Two traditional lightning rods for debate ­ a new library and the school operating budget ­ will once again loom large over this year's vote.

Polls will be open all day on Tuesday, March 9, and residents will have the opportunity to vote on all candidates, as well as school and town warrant articles.

Town

A total of 17 warrant articles will appear before Epsom voters on the town ballot, and some of the highlights include:

· Articles 1 and 2, the library. After years of trying, members of the planning committee think they've finally come up with a plan for a new Epsom library that everyone will like. Residents will pay only $250,000 of the total $750,000 cost.

If residents vote for Article 1, the money will be bonded and there will be no 2004 tax impact. If residents vote for Article 2, the entire sum will be raised through taxes this fiscal year. This will create a one-time increase in taxes of $1.49 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. That's about $223.50 on a home valued at $150,000.

· Article 3: The town operating budget. This year's proposed town budget is $2,162,280, only $17,906 more than last year's town budget.

If Article 3 is passes, it will add 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to the tax rate. This translates to an increase of $15 for the owner of a $150,000 home.

If it fails and the town is forced to accept a default budget, there would be a decrease of 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

· Article 10: $150,000 to be raised this year and placed in the Capital Improvements Fund for the purpose of rebuilding and improving town roads.

At the deliberative session, Road Agent Gordon Ellis said the town desperately needs money to repair town roads.

· Article 11: $65,000 to buy a new highway department truck. According to Ellis, the current truck is in almost constant need of repair, and is not worth keeping.

· Article 16: This article, if approved, would change the position of welfare officer from an elected position, to one appointed by the selectmen. town officials have said that because the welfare officer deals with so much state money and there is so much opportunity for mismanagement, keeping this position as an elected one could be a major liability.

· Article 17: This article changes the position of road agent from elected one that is hired. At the deliberative session, selectmen said that they wanted to see this warrant passed because it would provide more continuity to the job being done on town roads.

Opponents have said that by keeping the position elected, they will have better control over the condition of town roads.

School

Voters can expect to see the following items on the school warrant:

· Article 1: Operating budget. This year, the district has requested an operating budget of $6,284,017. Passing the budget would result in a tax increase of $2.84 per $1,000 of assessed value. Failing to pass the budget would give the district a default budget for the third year in a row. This budget would be $6,174,898 and would add $2.22 per $1,000 to the tax rate.

· Article 2: This article, if approved, would give the district $42,740 to purchase an already existing portable classroom. If the article is turned down, the school will be entering a two-year lease for the classroom.

· Article 3: $36,784 to pay the salary of a fourth custodian at Epsom Central School.

· Article 4: $25,000 to begin developing property behind the school already owned by the district into new soccer fields and a baseball field. The total cost of developing the land has been estimated at between $75,000 and $85,000, but the Epsom Youth Athletic Association will be privately raising the rest.

· Article 5: $150,000 to be appropriated to the school construction capital reserve fund.
 
· Article 6: School board salaries. This article, if passed, would allow each school board member to draw up to $1,000 in annual salary. School board chairman Don Harty said the board recommended this because they feared many good candidates were not running because of the volunteer nature of the job. All members of the current school board have said they will not take a salary.

Hooksett

School budget, land transfer up for vote

By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com

A hotly debated land transfer, a voter-amended budget and a few traditional requests are among the items voters will see on ballots on Tuesday, March 9, at the polls.

Voting will be held at the David R. Cawley Middle School from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Here's a rundown of what to expect in the voting booth:

Land transfer

A hot topic in town, Article 5 asks voters to transfer seven acres of school-owned property near the Hooksett Memorial School to the town for use by the Sewer Commission for a composting facility.

The board has decided to not issue a recommendation on the article, reserving judgment for voters.

"We've taken the position that the sewer commission needs to make the case for the land," said School Board Chairman BeckyBerk. "But it's land that we don't think we need for the school district, so we're willing to have it transferred."

The school board has come under fire for placing the article ­ which was shot down last year ­ on the ballot again.

A last-minute attempt to persuade voters to kill the proposal last year was successful and didn't give the sewer commission time to respond, said Berk.

"We wanted to give the sewer commission an opportunity to more fully explain what it's trying to do," she said.

Berk said odor problems have not been a problem in the past for the Memorial School and that during the three pilot composting programs held, school officials fielded only one complaint from faculty, staff and students.

She added that school officials agree there are no health risks associated with composting near the school.

Operating budget

The $20.5 million operating budget has gone through a number of changes. Ultimately, the budget committee decided against recommending Article 4 after voters at the Feb. 7 deliberative session of Town Meeting voted to add about $48,732 for the hiring of a new first-grade teacher.

The school board originally asked for two new first-grade teachers, but the budget committee cut that request, convinced the school board could get creative with its bottom-line budget and find room to fund the teachers within those constraints.

School officials are concerned about the large first grade. Without any additional teachers, the class size is 26 students for each teacher.

"Having one teacher added in doesn't get the class size below our 20 to 1 policy, but it helps," said Berk.

Voters seemed to agree at the deliberative session, when they amended the budget to include one additional teacher.

Still, Berk said she's concerned voters will see the "not recommended" tag line from the budget committee and shoot down the budget.

The board has gone over a number of options, should it be faced with a default budget of $20.3 million.

Village School

Article 6, a proposal to transfer the soon-to-be unused Hooksett Village School to the town for $1, stipulates the building must be used for town or community purposes. Ultimately, according to a school board survey, most hope the building is used as additional town office space and a community center. If the town does not adhere to those stipulations, the school district will regain ownership of the land and building. The move is supported by the school board.

Other warrants

· Voting for school officials: Berk is not running for re-election and resident Ronald Dion is the only one who's thrown his name in the running for the three-year term. There are three other slots voters will be asked to fill, including that of school district treasurer, a race between Frank Bizzarro and Dawn Stanhope.

· Article 2, a request for $25,000 for the Special Education Expendable Trust Fund: This customary request provides a financial safety net should students needing special education services move into the district during the school year. It's recommended by both the school board and budget committee.

· Article 3 proposes devoting $10,000 toward unanticipated building repairs. It is a move that both the board and budget committee approve. Berk said the fund will primarily cover the Fred C. Underhill Elementary School.

"Cawley and Memorial will be new or refurbished facilities, but it seems like every year at Underhill, there are problems with the roof or HVAC system," said Berk. "Five out of the last six years, we've had a pipe burst in the building."

Auburn

Police officer could be made permanent

By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com

At Town Meeting on Saturday, March 13, residents will be asked to make a police officer's job permanent as well as consider several other warrant articles.

Voting on school and town candidates will take place Tuesday, March 9, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Auburn Village School.

Officer salary

For the past three years, a $75,000 grant has paid for a full-time patrol officer, but that money is now gone and it's up to the town to fund the position.

The last installment of the grant was used up last year. Before the department can add the salary to its regular budget, the money has to go to the voters as a warrant article for the first year it will be raised completely through property taxes, said budget committee member Lynn White.

White said she believes the town will support a first-year salary request for $47,054 because of the added service provided for the town.

"We were just fortunate to have the (grant) funding for the first three years," she said.

Operating budget

The town's operating budget increased $144,000, or 5 percent, to $2.8 million dollars. Even with the increase, Town Finance Director Linda Small said the town's portion of the property tax rate should stay at $2.47 per $1,000 of assessed value.

A person with property valued at $250,000 would pay $617.50 in local property taxes to the town, plus school and county taxes.

Revenues coming in from residential and commercial vehicle registration have gone up in the past year, she said. The extra money is helping to offset an increase in the tax rate. Registrations aren't the only revenue the town relies on. But, based on the current registration records, Small estimates $1 million should come in for 2004.

Even with the revenue estimate, she is still cautious about predicting the tax rate because of the time between the Town Meeting vote and when property taxes are set by the state in the fall.

"A lot can change," she said. "We may not receive the revenues I've estimated."

Town departments were level-funded this year, and the 5 percent operating budget increase is annual salary and health benefit increases for town employees.

Fire department request

Fire Chief Bruce Phillips said his department services aren't compromised by the level funding.

Vehicle maintenance for the fire department shows up as a warrant article though, and the department has requested $65,700 to purchase a replacement cab and chassis for the town's emergency rescue truck.

"At this point we're nickel and diming it to death," Phillips said.

The current rescue truck was purchased in 1988, he said, and the "box" to hold equipment needs refurbishing. A new cab would have four seats instead of two, Phillips said, so EMTs wouldn't have to ride with the equipment during calls anymore.

Repairs and replacements would bring the entire vehicle up to standard, and Phillips said replacing the whole vehicle could cost the town at least $150,000.

Other warrants

If the voters approve all of the funding warrants, the total town budget would be $3.4 million. Other funding warrant articles are:

· $361,000 for the Capital Reserve Fund to go toward closing the incinerator site.

· $15,000 to create an expendable trust fund called the Emergency Social Health Trust Fund.

· $125,000 for police outside duty detail, which is funded through fees raised by the service.

Auburn's Town Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, at 1 p.m., at Auburn Village School.

Voting to elect town officials and pass amendments to zoning articles is on Tuesday, March 9, at Auburn Village School gym. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Allenstown

Fire truck, school budget up for approval March 9

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Thanks to amendments at the deliberative session, voters will have five fewer warrant items to consider when they go to the polls on March 9. There will be little choice among candidates as well, as there are no contested races.

Polls are open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Church on Tuesday, March 9.

A total of 28 warrant articles will technically be on the ballot, but five (Articles 14, 15, 16, 18 and 20) were "zeroed" out. Of the remaining articles, the highlights are:

Town

Zoning Articles: Articles 2 through 9 are all amendments to the town's zoning code. All have been recommended by the planning board.

Article 10: $3,100,736 for the town's operating budget. If this should be defeated, the town will operate under a default budget of $2,915,811.

If approved, this article will increase the tax rate by $2 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the owner of a $150,000 home this would translate to $300.

Article 11: If approved, this article would expand the definition of who qualifies for the elderly property tax exemption.

Under the new standards residents who make less than $30,000 a piece (or $42,000 as a couple) and have assets worth less than $85,000 can qualify for these exemptions:

· Residents between the ages of 65 and 75 will receive a $10,000 exemption.

· Residents between the ages of 75 and 85 will receive a $15,000 exemption.

· Residents over the age of 85 will receive a $25,000 exemption.

Article 12: New fire truck: This article asks voters to approve the fire department entering a 10-year lease/purchase of a new pump truck costing $649,000. The first-year payment will be $78,364. The estimated tax impact is 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

It is not recommended by the board of selectmen or the budget committee.

Article 13: Approval of a five year lease/purchase of a new backhoe for the highway department. The total cost will be $67,500, with a first-year tax impact of $13,500. The tax impact would be six cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

This is recommended by the board of selectmen but not by the budget committee.

School

Voters will have a very brief school ballot to consider, with only five articles. The three articles requesting money are:

Article 2: Operating budget: This year's requested budget is $7,701,973. However, if the budget is defeated, the default budget will actually be about $10,000 higher. The school board does not recommend approval; however, the budget committee does.

Article 3: Teacher's contract: This article asks voters to approve a three-year teacher's contract with $333,109 in salary increases over the life of the contract. It also asks voters approve the raising and appropriation of $128,112 for the first year of the contract.

Both the school board and the budget committee recommend the approval of this article.

Article 4: $32,535 to provide busing to Pembroke Academy for Allenstown's high school students. The school board recommends approval, but the budget committee does not.

Candia

Bus monitors, budget on tap for March 9 meeting

By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com

A handful of traditional requests, a budget with a cut program and a petitioned warrant article asking for $40,000 for school bus monitors are on tap for discussion at the 2004 annual School District Meeting.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 6, at the Henry W. Moore School.

Voting on school and town candidates will take place Tuesday, March 9, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Moore School.

Here's what voters can expect:

· An article asking for $10,000 for the Building Maintenance Expendable Trust Fund to cover any mid-year maintenance problems at the Moore School.

"It's just for repairs," said Bill Zarges, school board chairman. "So we don't get caught if a roof leaks or something like that."

· An article requesting $25,000 for the Special Education Expendable Trust Fund. The money serves as a safety net for the school board, should students needing special education services move into the district during the school year.

· Article 3: The $1.23 million appropriation to send Candia high schoolers to Manchester. After some wrangling with Mancheter officials, the school board is using a $8,260 per student price tag that Hooksett and Auburn school officials are using as well.

Zarges said school officials break the tuition out into a separate warrant article per the recommendation of citizens who want to see the money used only for tuition.

Should there be any left over, it is returned to the town for tax rate reductions.

· Article 4: The proposed $6.47 million operating budget will be reduced by $1.23 million if Article 3 is approved.

The budget, said Zarges, represents about a 4.2 percent increase over last year's budget.

"We pretty much held the line on discretionary spending," he said.

Officials trimmed about $50,000 to $60,000 from the budget, estimated Zarges, after eliminating the computer teacher's position.
The move, he said, has been in the works.

"We've been moving towards integration. The computer is a tool to learn and not a separate subject. It's part of our technology plan to integrate," he said.

That integration will come when other teachers take their classes to the 25-terminal computer lab for lessons on curriculum-specific material.

The math and English teachers, for example, will incorporate a computer lesson into their plans, said Zarges.

"We're pretty confident that we've got some computer-savvy teachers ­ at least one on each grade level," he said.

As for the heat the board might take for cutting out the computer program, Zarges said the district can't justify paying for the position as the Moore School's enrollment continues to drop.

· Article 6: Asking voters for $18,000 to complete a building and program analysis at the Moore School, Zarges said the article is the "next step" for the district.

Recommended by the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, the analysis would look at space in the school, assess what's needed and how to best utilize the school's resources.

"We need to continue to move forward because we know we have issues with overcrowding," said Zarges. "There are parts of our building that go back to the 1920s."

· Article 7: This petitioned warrant article asks voters to devote $40,000 toward the hiring of about five monitors who will ride the buses in the morning and afternoon.

Inspired by former bus driver and resident Cathy Rohrs' concern that the buses are over-crowded and fraught with discipline problems, the move would provide an adult that would relieve the bus driver from dealing with discipline issues.

The school board does not recommend the article, because statistics show discipline reports are dramatically down from last year, said Zarges.

Pembroke

SB2 to be voted on March 9, School Meeting is March 6

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Because the teacher's union and the school board failed to come to an agreement on salaries, voters will have a School District Meeting that district officials have called "mundane."

The School District Meeting will take place Saturday, March 6, at 10 a.m., at Pembroke Academy.

Voting on school and town candidates as well as whether the town and school should move to the official ballot law will take place Tuesday, March 9, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Pembroke Village School.

Pembroke has one contested race, that of selectman. There are two three-year slots open. Candidates for selectman are Richard Bilodeau, Daniel D. Crean, Carl Schoeller and Larry W. Young Sr.

School district warrants

There are 11 items on the warrant, of which five are money articles. These articles include:

Article 3: The appropriation of $25,000 from surplus to be added to the school building capital reserve fund. This money will be taken from any surplus money left over at the end of the 2004 budget year.

Article 4: $100,000 from surplus to be placed in the special education trust fund. Like Article 3, this money is taken from surplus at the end of the year. Neither article will have an impact on this year's taxes.

Article 5: $40,603 to perform a number of small maintenance tasks on several Pembroke schools. Some of the tasks include painting classrooms at Pembroke Hill and replacing a 53-year-old boiler at Pembroke Village School. Unlike the previous two items, this money will be raised through taxes this fiscal year.

Article 6: $26,350 to improve traffic and parking issues at three schools.

Article 7: $5,319 to replace a dumpster and the replacement of emergency medical equipment and other safety items at the district's schools.

Article 9: The operating budget. If approved by voters, $18,000,153 would be spent to run the schools. This is an increase over last year's budget of $510,234 or 2.9 percent.

Allenstown

Boys and Girls Club welcomes kids back

By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Young students and teens are shooting hoops, going head-to-head in foosball matches and taking quiet time to do their homework, in a place that some were worried might never open.

The Boys and Girls Club was open and hopping on Monday, March 1, at the Allenstown Recreation Center in the Whitten Street Park, where the satellite facility of the Concord Boys and Girls Club will cater to local children. The day has been a long time coming, put off by the discovery of gasoline in pools of water on the site last year. A 30-year-old gasoline leak was thought to be the culprit, so last summer selectmen closed the site and the recreation center until the area could be tested. Test pits were dug and soil samples taken which ultimately determined there is no danger to the children ­ or anyone ­ using the building or the property. "We always knew we needed to be out there," said Chris Emond, executive director of the Concord club. "We were very happy when we found out it would be open." While test results were pending, officials had begun busing children from Allenstown to the Concord Boys and Girls Club in September. The move, they said, was temporary until the recreation center got the green light to open.

AFTER-SCHOOL FUN ­ Jason Rodger, 11, of Allenstown, racks a set of pool balls during his first day at the reopened Allenstown Boys and Girls Club. (Kate Benway Photo)

Now it has.

"I'm excited about it," said Jennifer Robinson, the director of the Allenstown club, who hopes to start up a number of activities at the recreation center, including a basketball tournament.

As a former professional basketball player, Robinson knows what she's doing.

"I'm still a little new and getting used to it all," she said.

But so is everyone involved.

Parents are in and out of the center signing up their kids, and the club is collaborating with the Renaissance Project out of Pembroke Academy to run a summer day camp from the Boys and Girls Club.

In fact, the club will eventually take over the Renaissance Project's summer day camp completely.

"The partnering for the summer program this year made absolutely perfect sense," said Janet Clark, executive director of the project. "We're very excited about it."

The club will be open for children ages 6 to 12 immediately after school until 6 p.m. And from 6 to 8 p.m., teens ages 12 to 18 are welcome at the club. Contact the club at 485-0598.

Hooksett

Former town councilor Don Duford dies at 66

By GINGER KOZLOWSKI
Staff Writer
editor@hooksettbanner.com

He had the courage to speak on his convictions, popular or not. He was dedicated to the betterment of Hooksett, serving the town in many capacities. He assisted in many town projects ­ planning the Hooksett District Court courthouse, the Hooksett Safety Center, the highway center and the transfer station. Donald Duford will be missed by many.

Duford, 66, of River Road, died Wednesday, March 3, of a heart attack. He was a lifelong resident of Hooksett, and was self-employed as a general contractor. He built the Farmer's Market convenience store on Route 3A in Hooksett, and later ran the store.

His record of service to the town of Hooksett is lengthy. He was a town councilor from 1989 to 1990 and 1999 to 2002 and never took any pay for it. He was on the Hooksett Solid Waste Management Comittee for more than 25 years, and served on the board of assessors, safety complex committee, facilities committee, tax investigation committee, recycling committee, transfer station committee and sanitary landfill committee.

Duford was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Father Langlois Council No. 4961, a former member of the Pinnacle Fish and Game Club, and a member of the Suncook Valley Rod and Gun Club.

Town Councilor Patricia Rueppel served with Duford during her present term.

"I do not know if the Reader's Digest still has the articles 'The Most Unforgettable Character I Have Ever Met,'" said Rueppel, "but if it does, I would write an article titled just that about Don Duford. He had the courage of his convictions and expressed them with great determination.

"The words 'politically correct' were not in his vocabulary and he fought hard for the things he believed in," she said. "He loved Hooksett and served the town in many capacities. Over the years, he assisted in building many projects to save the town money.
"Another example of his dedication ­ he was a member of the council for three terms and he never took his council pay. He donated it back to the town," said Rueppel.

Robert Schroeder of Hooksett remembered Duford's service and tenacity.

"I feel that the town has lost one of its most ardent supporters and an extremely determined worker for the betterment of our town," said Schroeder.

Duford was involved in the original sanitary land fill operation on Route 3-A and was a prime mover in providing a facility for demolition deposit, said Schroeder, which provided a substantial cash stream to the town.

"As a result of this," said Schroeder, "the town was the beneficiary of a transfer building and much of the equipment to operate the facility, a recycling building, a highway garage building all at no tax payer expense."

Schroeder added that Duford was involved in remodeling the current town office building and also fought hard to get the town to build the current court house building which has also provided an income stream for the town."

"I think that even though he was not a quiet man and seldom held back his opinion," said Schroeder, "a lot of what he has done for the benefit of our community may have been forgotten."

Teacher, school board member and former town councilor James Sullivan said Duford was very helpful to him when he decided to get involved in the town in 1989.

"If Don Duford taught me one thing, it was to stick to my convictions and be consistent," said Sullivan. "He felt that community service was a duty and honor."

David Paquette of Hooksett summed up Duford's life this way:

"Don was a rare person in today's society. He attended many meetings and/or volunteered many hours of himself for the betterment of the community.

"One (including myself at times) might have not even agreed with Don and the issues, however he did bring up all the right questions.

"Though many people in town may not have always agreed with Don and his views, which could spark much discussion, at the end of the debate/issue/discussion, he was always still your friend, willing to share a cup of coffee and chat about other issues.
"Don loved Hooksett with a passion and held the dollar to a minimum, whereas each department only got what they needed to function effectively with no luxuries."

Calling hours will be held Saturday, March 6, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Petit Funeral Home, 167 Main St., Pembroke. Memorial services will be held privately at a later date.

Duford is survived by three sons, three daughters, his mother, two sisters, his companion Judy Casey, and many other relatives.

Memorial donations may be made to the Hooksett Conservation Commission, c/o Hooksett Town Hall, 16 Main St., Hooksett.