Jennifer Morin called the meeting to order. She mentioned to everyone that the meeting was being tape-recorded and asked anyone who had questions to please state their name for the record.

Shall the School District vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $3,535,985 for the construction and equipping of additions and renovations to the Allenstown Elementary School and renovations to the Armand R. Dupont School, and to authorize the issuance of not more than $3,483,730 of bonds or notes in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Finance Act (RSA Ch. 33) with the remaining $52,255 offset by anticipated interest derived from the temporary investment of the bond proceeds, and to authorize the School Board to issue and negotiate such bonds or notes and determine the rate of interest thereon; further to raise and appropriate the additional sum of $88,835 for the first bond payment and authorize the School Board to take any other action necessary to carry out this vote. School Board recommends approval and the Budget Committee recommends approval. (3/5ths majority vote required)

Tom Irzyk, School Board Member, then asked everyone to look at the handout. It showed the site drawing of the proposed addition with two added parking lots at the back of the school building. He indicated that everything that was bolded on the second handout behind the gym was where the addition would be. The back hall where the Kindergarten is now would be remodeled and the Kindergarten will actually be moved to the left hand side of the hallway making room to cut into the back addition area.

Henriette Girard asked if they were going to make the Kindergarten smaller? Tom Irzyk stated no, they will remain the same, but just will be reconfigured in a new layout, they must maintain the same space that was granted to us.

Tom Irzyk then pointed out the second floor addition, the whole section where the library is, the whole second floor is all-new, it will be above the Kindergarten wing. The new addition will include the new fourth grade classrooms and boys and girls rooms.

The Bond development, $3,483,730 with an interest rate of 4.5% the highest principal payment is $141,492, which is the second year of the bond. The highest interest payment of $148,809. The bond is a 10 year bond and the big key to this whole proposal is the 60% funding from the State. The final payment will be $145,763 and the maximum tax rate of $1.11, which is year two the most expensive year of the bond, because it is the first interest and principal payment.

For the 2005-06 year the payment will be $88,835, interest only, after the second year the payments go down each year and in the 10^th year the payment will be $7,763. The 10-year tax rate impact would be .34 cents for the first year, then $1.11 for the second year down to .56 cents for the 10^th year.

The reasons to support the bond proposal are:

• The addition will correct educational inadequacies in the facilities now available for housing our grade K-5 program. Grades 5-8 are at ARD now and we are really cramped for space.
• The addition will free up space at ARD to allow for badly needed program expansion in Grades 6-8.
• State aid to Allenstown is now 60%, but may not be this high in the future. When the addition was first proposed two years ago, the State aid was 30%, but now Allenstown qualifies for 60%.
• Current bond interest rates are still low.
• The tax rate impact is only an additional .34 per thousand and decreases each year for the remaining 9 years of the bond.

Some of the things that will be gained by this program, right now at AES there are 18 classrooms that will become 21 once the addition is complete. Currently there are four undersized classrooms that cannot hold a full size class; these four undersized classrooms go away. Title I Resource Instruction is currently a shared area; it will now have two rooms. Art and Music have never been able to have a room, they will add a room for each program. The Computer and Library share a space, they will now each have their own room. The Library will go from 1,033 square feet to 1,832 square feet. We have badly needed expanded Kitchen needs. This kitchen prepares all the food for both schools; the food is then brought to ARD.

Another great thing about the addition is that underneath the addition will be badly needed storage facilities. This will allow us to take advantage of buying things in surplus, we will be able to save money and have a place to store the supplies.

Administration offices and meeting/working space, there is currently 823 square feet will be enlarged to 1,692 square feet. Small group areas will go from 968 square feet to 2,116 square feet.

One of the larges bonuses of the expansion will allow us to free up the parking and traffic congestion at the school. We will add 44 parking spaces in the back of the building for staff parking. This will free up all the front area for the buses and for the parents who drop off their kids, this will eliminate all the congestion and safety issues.

Therefore, the addition brings 16,922 increase in square footage, from 39,946 to 56,856. The addition to the first floor will add five new rooms to the school, which will all serve as instructional areas. The addition to the second floor will add eight new rooms to the school, which will all serve as instructional areas.

The addition will bring the Town up to compliance with building and life safety codes. We will need to install a sprinkler system to the school, the lighting will be updated, and the electrical will be updated.

The classrooms at AES will accommodate up to 400 students in Grades K-5 and it will free up space at ARD, which will allow us to eliminate the modular. This was a short-term thing that the School Board needed to purchase because we needed the space at ARD.

Appropriate areas for Title I, Special Education and Small Group instruction at both schools, currently when kids need to be tested, that testing is being done in locker rooms, hallways, cafeteria, etc. For what the School is responsible for by State and Federal law, we are not able to provide those testing places that they need.

The security system will be upgraded at both schools, it will be a card reader system so that all teachers will have a card access system to get in and out of the school, which will help us keep the school better secured. Both food services area will also be upgraded.

Henriette Girard asked if the modular was on a two-year lease? Tom Irzyk stated yes, it was a two-year lease, but if the bond passes we will still have to use the modular for one more year due to the fact that the addition will not be ready until the middle of the next school year. If the bond passes, the renovations will start in the office area and reconfiguring the Kindergarten, to have these areas ready for the opening of school. The addition in the back of the school will be going on while school is in session. It will be a work in progress during the school year and the best estimates is that the 5^th grade will not move in until after the first of the year at the earliest.

Lou Conley stated that the modular is leased for this school year and next school year. Tom Irzyk stated that if the bond passes, the modular would probably be empty for a couple of months before it is removed.

Sandy McKenney asked how many students ARD could hold? Tom Irzyk stated that the current size of AES is 245, the State max is 365, with the addition the school board recommended class size, will bring it to 405 students, Stated maximum is 565.

Dan Howe asked how many students were at AES now. Principal Terry Kenney stated that there are 273 students now. With the 5^th grade, you would add 70 more students.

Laurie McGrath asked what types of upgrades would be conducted at ARD? Tom Irzyk stated that right now it would be security and kitchen upgrades right now. The way the warrant article is written is that if the project is brought in under budget, and there was extra money, it will allow us to do some other things at ARD. Right now the focus is to do the renovations and addition at AES and if we manage the project correctly and it comes in under cost, then we could possible have money to still do some work at ARD as well.

Laurie McGrath asked what the maximum number of students was at ARD. Tom Irzyk stated that the School Board recommended number of students at ARD is 180 students, State maximum is 270 currently there are 242 students at ARD.

Laurie McGrath asked if the number of students of AES dropped from last year? Tom Irzyk stated that total school enrollment is 515, last year we had 541, there has been a trend of the population going down. At maximum we had almost 600 students in the district and it has gradually gone down. But just with the developments and building that has been going on in Town, we can see the number start to climb. In Bear Brook alone there is 35 permits for buildings just this year.

Henriette Girard asked what the highest number of students that have been in the school. Evelyn Guilbeault stated that in 1977-78 there were over 681 students in the district. In 1995-96 there were 636 students, in 96-97 – 653; in 1997-98 – 650; in 1998-99 – 683; in 1999-2000 – 665; in 2000-01 – 674; in 2001-02 – 628; 2002-03 – 577; 2003-04 – 541; in 2004-05 – 515.

Four years ago they trended a downsize of population, but they also projected it to start rising again. Allenstown’s enrollments were currently higher than what was projected in the reports. Lou Conley stated that the way the State projects enrollment is by the number of births each year. They do not take into account who moves in and who moves out.

Dan Howe stated that the closer to the Massachusetts border we are, the higher out population is going to get. Tom Irzyk stated that up to Concord is considered a suburb of Boston.

Peter Viar stated that the highest number of students at AES in grades K-4 was 378.

Tom Gilligan asked what the estimated start date of the project. Tom Irzyk stated that they were looking at right after School let out, probably July. The remodeling would be done before school started, they the addition would begin after that. Tom Gilligan asked what the estimated completion date was. Lou Conley stated that if everything goes as planned, they would be moving in just after the first of the year 2006. Lou Conley stated that it is an aggressive schedule and it all depends on the architect and construction manager who have to finish the construction drawings, then it has to go out to bid.

Tom Gilligan asked if there was a deadline as to when the construction needs to be finished by in order to get the 60% funding from the State. No. He then asked if they had talked about getting a surety bond to guarantee that the contractor will finish within the set amount of time.

Tom Haley stated that they are required to have a surety bond. Tom Gilligan asked if there was a timeframe for the construction? Tom Haley stated that the timeframe for construction is one year.

Tom Gilligan asked what the surety bond was going to guarantee, is it 100% of the construction costs, 100% of the bond, 120% is there a escalator. If we contract this out and the contractor goes belly up and walks away from the job, what protection does the taxpayers have to make sure that the project get finished?

Tom Haley stated that the surety bond is going to guarantee 100% of the bond. Lou Conley stated that the School Board is not running the job, which is why we hired a construction manager. Ross Hurd of C&K Construction is the construction manager. Their company has built many school additions. Tom Haley stated that this company had also built an addition in Chichester. Lou Conley stated that the Town will be covered, so that we don’t pay for something that we don’t receive.

Laurie McGrath asked what would happen if there were overages. Tom Irzyk stated that overage costs were built into the budget of the construction. Laurie asked if there were no overages, then this money would be used at ARD? Tom Irzyk stated that whatever we can come in under budget is what we will look at to do renovations at ARD.

Laurie McGrath stated that ARD was in desperate need of renovations. Tom Irzyk stated that both schools are in desperate need of renovations. The carpeting on the ground was there when he went to school here. Laurie stated that her daughter is a student in the modular and they have had no heat for 8 days over the course of the year. Tom Irzyk stated that there have been quite a few issues in the school as well as the modular. The modular was a temporary plan to take care of the space needs in the building.

Sandy McKenney asked about the total staff. Tom Irzyk stated that the total number of classroom teachers is 27 and total number of classroom aids is 26, these numbers is for both schools for the current school year.

Tom Irzyk stated that in 2000-01 there were 29 teachers and 26 aids, in 2001-02 there were 28 teachers and 21 aids, in 2002-03 there were 30 teachers and 21 aids and in 2003-04 there were 30 teachers and 33 aids. There were more needs due to special education. Some special education kids need one on one aids, therefore the number fluctuates each year.

Sandy McKenney then asked what were the sizes of the classrooms. Tom Irzyk stated that currently Kindergarten as two classrooms, with four classes, 2 a.m. classes and 2 p.m. classes, the four classes are 13, 13, 12, and 10; Grade 1 has four rooms, 15, 14, 13, 13; Grade 2 has three rooms, 18, 17, 17; Grade 3 has two rooms of 23 and 22; Grade 4 has four rooms of 19, 18, 18, 18; Grade 5 has three classes, 27, 18, 17; Grade 6 has four classes, 16, 16, 16, 15; Grade 7 has three classes, 22, 21, 20; and Grade 8 has three classes of 22, 20, 19.

Sandy then asked what the standard size of a classroom, Tom Healy stated that the State Standard is 900 square feet from grades 2-5 the maximum is 25 students and over grade 5 the maximum is 30 students. Tom Irzyk stated that three of the current 15 classrooms are undersized and do not meet the minimum square footage requirements.

Henriette Girard asked about Kindergarten is there a minimum? Tom Haley stated that there is no standard for Kindergarten because it is not required.

To hear the reports of Agents, Auditors, Committees, or Officers chosen, and to pass any vote relating thereto.

Shall the School District raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amount set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totally 48,138,708. Should this article be defeated, the operating budget shall be $8,028,507 which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the school district, or by law, or the governing body may hold one special meeting in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of the revised operating budget only.

(Note: Warrant Article #3 (operating budget article) does not include separate warrant articles #1 and #4). The School Board recommends approval and the Budget Committee recommends approval.

Tom Irzyk reviewed the five-year tax history of the School. In 2002-01 the tax rate was $19.92; in 2001-02 the rate was $18.33; in 2002-03 the rate was $16.10; in 2003-04 the rate was $15.82 and in 2004-05 the rate was $13.98.

David Eaton asked if these number take into consideration the tax base. The rates look nice going down, but the tax base has risen. Tom Irzyk stated that we all know that the tax rate has dropped, but we all know that the tax bills have gone up.

Tom Irzyk stated that the New Hampshire average of costs per student in 2001-02 was $7,322; currently Allenstown is spending $5,994 per student. In 01-02 there were 49 districts spending less then $7,000 and 104 school districts spending more than $7,000. If you look at 2002-03, the New Hampshire average was $8,559 and Allenstown was spending $7,012 per student.

Tom stated that the budget that the School Board and Budget recommend is $8,138,708, should the article be defeated, the default budget would be $8,028,507 which would give a difference of $110,201. The Fund I budget would be $7,856,332; Fund 2 would be $138,176 and Fund 4 would be $144,200 for a total of $8,138,708.

The separate warrant articles are the ABP Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is the Union agreement for the non-certified staff and the Building addition for a total appropriation of $11,804,667. The Fund 1 budget for 2005/06 is $7,856,332 the current Fund 1 budget is $7,556,442 showing a 3.97% increase of $299,890. If just the budget is passed the tax rate will go from $13.89 and will increase by $1.41 to $15.30. One of the main reasons for the big jump this year is because last year, the operating budget was cut lower than default so there is a larger gap to make up. Last year the budget was $120,000 less than the default.

Laurie McGrath asked about the $1.11 increase, Tom Irzyk stated that this is the highest payment of the bond year. It is the first principal and interest payment. The .34 cents is now if Article I is passed. If the operation budget is passed also, then there will be an additional $1.41 increase. If the two articles pass, they the tax rate will increase by both amounts.

Dan Howe asked about the laptop computers that the school wants. The Governor gave computers to the seventh grade, which means the eight grade is lacking computers. Over the weekend he heard that we wanted to buy 33 new laptop computers for the eighth grade and some of the computers were going to the sixth grade, is that true? Tom Irzyk stated that this is not true. There is the laptop program in the budget to complete the program for the eighth grade. There is no intention of anything going to the sixth grade. It is a seventh and eigth grade program. The Boards goal is to in the future is to create a purchase program, whereas when you come into sixth grade, you will purchase a laptop and this will carry through with each student in seventh and eighth grade. You will purchase it and take it with you when you leave the school and we will then replenish it. We want to do a self-sustaining purchase program. This is a long time goal and is not anywhere close to being an issue.

Shall the District vote to raise and appropriate the cost items set forth in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Allenstown School Board and the Allenstown Paraprofessional Association for the 2005/06, 2006/07 and the 2007/08 fiscal years which calls for the following increase in salaries and benefits:

2005/06 $41,139

2006/07 $24,055

2007/08 $23,988

and further to raise the appropriate the sum of $41,139 for the 2005/06 fiscal year, such sum representing the additional costs attributable to the increase in salaries and benefits agreed to by the Allenstown School Board and the Allenstown Paraprofessional Association. School Board recommends approval and the Budget Committee recommends approval.

Tom Irzyk stated that this is the non-certified staff working in both schools, they are covered by a Union agreement and we have negotiated a three-year contract with them. The first year 2005/06 the cost is $41,139, 2006/07 the cost is $24,055 and in 2007/08 the cost would be $23,988. The breakdown of where the numbers come from is $19,926 is just in wages. One of the biggest jumps in the contract for 2005/06 is the annuity. In the previous three-year agreement, there was an error writing the retirement annuity. They never got an increase during the three years of the contract. They came to us and asked that the annuity payment be increased but because it is a contract, we could not do that. So $4,273 of the first year contract is to get the annuity where it should have been. There were also some longevity payments of $6,438. The wage increase is the same each year of the contract, so each year it is a $19,926 increase over the three years. The tax impact for this warrant article would be .15 cents.