By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Candia school officials have firmed up a $4.4 million plan that includes a new gymnasium and added space for middle school and special education programs to spruce up the Henry Moore School.

The Moore School Facilities Committee presented the plan at a Wednesday, Jan. 18, public forum.

Voters last year rejected a $6 million plan that addressed many of the same needs covered in the new bond proposal, which will appear on the March school district ballot.

"We heard the message loud and clear that we should get creative and try to get the price down," said facilities committee member and Candia School Board member John Messler. "We're trying to get the most we absolutely can for the money."

The plan includes adding a 7,350-square-foot gymnasium and stage, more library and cafeteria space and additional special education and Title I classroom space. Improvements to heating, electrical and HVAC systems would also be covered in the 10-year bond.

If approved, the construction and renovations would accommodate an additional 90 students, or 20 percent more. There are currently about 460 kindergarten through eighth-grade students at the school.

While the student population at Moore School has remained fairly constant in recent years, Principal Robert St. Cyr said increasing demands on the types of educational programming New Hampshire schools must provide require extra educational space.

"We're dealing with a myriad of different issues coming up with students learning," he said. "We are out of space in terms of requirements of the programs."

Cyr said the renovations would allow for more educational options for the school's middle school students and better meet the needs of increasing numbers of special education and Title I students.

The Title I program, used by schools nationwide, is designed to help students having trouble in specific academic areas.

After last year's vote, school officials sent a questionnaire to Candia residents asking input on how to solve overcrowding issues. The facilities committee then explored three options - a cooperative or tuition agreement with a neighboring town or towns, a new school complex or renovations/additions to Moore school.

Kathy Berger said each of the nearby towns contacted weren't interested in a cooperative agreement or had disparate timetables, and suggested that an estimated $18 million new school plan was too costly. Thus the school board moved forward with the proposal for work on the current school.

"We are not going to make every part of this building perfect," Messler said of the current plan. But, he said, "The core services would be greatly expanded."

If the plan is approved, officials estimate, the project's impact on the tax rate would be $1.37 per $1,000 of assessed valuation at its highest, down to 87 cents in the final year of the bond.

Berger said construction would likely begin immediately if the bond were approved, and could be complete by summer 2007.

No one was outspoken against the proposal at the forum, but Berger urged Candia residents to question the plan.

"This is a community project," she said. "It isn't going to happen if everyone isn't happy and satisfied with what you're getting for your money."

Steve Higgins, for one, said he was in favor of the investment. As his young son, Tommy, actively roamed through the school's gym throughout most of the meeting, Higgins said, "We need space for these kids to move."