Report Card: Need Improvement

April 4, 2019

For many years, the need to renovate the two school buildings or replace them with one larger school has been bandied about but left unresolved. Over the years, repairs were made as needed. At long last, the school board issued a Request for Proposal in January 2018.

The Allenstown School Board then engaged the Harriman Architects and Engineers Group of Portsmouth, NH to conduct a feasibility study of the Allenstown Elementary School (AES) and the AR Dupont School (ARD), and to report on the conditions of the schools and identify needs.

An article appeared in the Concord Monitor Extra weekend flier for April 6th with the headline, "Allenstown, Pembroke to consider school's fate." The article focused mainly on the 65-year-old AR Dupont School. It mentioned a few options, which are covered later in this article. The article at first incorrectly mentioned "a feasibility committee from Portsmouth" and a few paragraphs later called it "the Portsmouth company, called the Harriman Group." It ended with a possibly misleading statement from Superintendent Warburton. "We'll see what the boards have to say [about the options]. The people in town know what's going on, so let's stop before we spend any more money and explore." How did he know that?

Public forums were held in February, but many residents as well as some town officials were unaware of them. One wonders if only residents with school age children were kept in the loop. A public presentation was made on March 11 in which the Harriman Group presented detailed reports on the physical structures and on the adequacy of the buildings to support the school district's educational programs.

The following reports and documents are posted on the Allenstown web site (under the Town News link), and also on the SAU53 web site.

➤ 2019 ARD Facility Analysis (87 pages)
➤ 2019 AES Facility Analysis (100 pages)
➤ ARD Educational Assessment (31 pages)
➤ AES Educational Assessment (30 pages)
➤ Harriman's presentation to school board - 3-11-19
➤ Feedback from February Community Forums
➤ Letter to Allenstown residents - 3-19-19
➤ Updated letter to Allenstown residents - 3-26-19

The following significant details can be found in the Executive Summary for each school's Facility Analysis.

ARD - The three sections were built in 1954, 1973, and 1988. The report stated that the mean life expectancy of a school building is 62 years. The report also stated that "The original structure is over 65 years old and the building shell appears to be in fair to poor condition ... The 1988 building shell appears to be in fair to good condition." After you read all the structural and mechanical deficiencies you may wonder if renovations may be too costly to undertake.

AES - This school was built in three phases: 1962 - one story school; 1972 - a second story was added; 1998 - an addition for kindergarten was built in the rear. Again, the mean life expectancy of a school building is 62 years. The report stated that, "The original structure is over 55 years old and the building shell appears to be in fair to good condition. ... many of the systems and equipment have also outlived their life expectancy. These are significant indicators that the original 1962 facility and the 1972 addition are due for some major upgrades." Renovations may not be as extensive as for ARD, but the Harriman Group still needs to advise us about the potential costs of renovation.

ARD to Three Rivers

The Allenstown School Board issued a press release dated March 20, 2019 stating that the Allenstown School Board was considering several options. One of them was to form a study committee with the Pembroke School Board to consider the option to send ARD students to Pembroke's Three Rivers School and pay some agreed-upon tution. This notice appeared in a post on the "Pembroke Speaks" Facebook site. The notice was also buried on the NEWS/ANNOUNCEMENTS section of SAU 53's ARD web site with the bland title of "Press Release 3/20/19." They could use some training on writing more cogent headlines.

A follow-up notice was published on March 26 reporting strong public interest in the study committee. Depending on the recommendations of the Harriman Group, there may need to be a few more study committees to deal with additional options. Some of these options include (1) moving the 160 or so ARD students to Three River School with a tuition deal and closing ARD, (2) moving the ARD students to the elementary school (but is there enough classroom space?), (3) moving ARD and AES students to Three Rivers School (that's 395 students), or (4) build a new larger school. Whatever option is finally agreed upon, it will appear as a warrant article on the March 2020 ballot for the voters to approve. Students will remain where they are until that time.

That relocation may be the most viable short-term solution. One wonders though how underutilized Three Rivers School is since ARD has about 160 students according to the school board's handout from Feb. 2nd. The other solution might be to contract with a local private school. According to privateschoolreview.com, there are several private elementary school in or near Concord. Tuition ranges from $4,400 to $10,200 but these schools often offer financial aid packages.

Sell the Property

If ARD renovation costs prove to be too high, a wild and crazy idea would be to sell the ARD property and using the proceeds to fix and possibly expand AES. The ARD property appears as lot 112-287 on the tax map, covers 2.5 acres, and has a tax value of $2.34 million. The town would gain much needed property taxes plus jobs if the site were to be developed as commercial or retail property or mixed use (once rezoned). Of course, the neighborhood would have to agree to such a dramatic change, but something needs to be done with the property. A developer might gut the building (if structurally sound) and convert it to professional offices, retail spaces, or even town houses.

What You Can Do

Attend the School Board meeting on April 8 at 6:00 p.m. at the Elementary School for a preliminary report from the Harriman Group on options for the schools. It is hoped that initial estimates of renovation and repair costs will be presented.

If you pay school taxes, you have a right to be informed and express your opinions on how to solve the school situation.

Attend the School Board meeting on May 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Dupont School for a final report from the Harriman Group on options for the schools.