Bristol Selectboard, Newfound schools work to align on space and building use

BRISTOL — Newfound Area School District Superintendent Paul Hoiriis appeared before the Bristol Selectboard to discuss cooperation between the two bodies, largely related to district space and building needs.

The conversation during the selectboard's Oct. 16 meeting focused on conducting elections on school property, the Nov. 4 procedural defect meeting to allow the state Department of Revenue Administration to set property tax rates, and the district plans for the central office location and possible closure of schools.

Selectboard members were particularly concerned about the potential loss of tax revenue under a proposal for the district to buy the Bristol TD Bank building to satisfy a need for office space, especially if renovations to existing buildings would satisfy those needs in a few years.

Selectboard member John Miller was most critical of the plan. “What I’m getting is, at the end of the day, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to have the school in a position where you end up being real estate developers and doing something in the middle of downtown,” he said, “when you know you’re doing construction in potentially two buildings.

"To me, personally, it seems to make a lot more sense [to] leave the main building on the tax rolls and let TD Bank deal with it.”

Under the bank’s offer, it would sell the property containing both the Bristol branch and the building the district currently rents for its previously assessed value to the district, rather than its market value. Under the town's new revaluation, the property is worth $400,000 more. If the district chooses not to purchase the property, it would go on the open market, where another buyer could double the rent or ask the district to vacate.

Hoiriis said he is looking for other rental space for central office needs, but the bank property remains the best option. The district could use the upper two stories of the bank building, and potentially rent the first floor and sell the adjacent building they're currently renting.

Long-term, the district is looking into consolidating its five school buildings into two, by renovating the middle school to accommodate kindergarten through sixth grade, and building an addition on the high school for grades 7 and 8. A current study is looking into whether the project could include district office space in one of those buildings.

Any proposals to purchase or consolidate would not go before voters until at least 2027, and construction would follow if approved, meaning central office might need to be rented anyway in the short term, perhaps for five years.

If the bank purchase fails to gain voter approval, Hoiriis said, he currently has no other options.

Selectboard members asked about the space required to house the personnel, with 2,000 square feet of second-floor space available at the town offices. Hoiriis said the current district headquarters comprises 3,000 square feet, and not all personnel are able to work out of the building. At least 4,000 square feet would be needed.

“We don’t want to be a landlord,” Hoiriis said; “I have enough things to do. My facilities director has enough things to do.”

Selectboard members said they would look to help find an alternative location.

The selectboard followed up on an earlier discussion about holding elections on school property, with the superintendent saying his staff are working on a school calendar which would avoid holding classes on election days, using that time for professional development workshops for teachers. He noted that, because many local students are enrolled in classes at the Huot Career and Technical Center in Laconia, they are aligning Newfound’s calendar with that of the Laconia School District, which also closes schools on election days.

Hoiriis also provided an update on the district’s financial recovery efforts after a November 2023 cyber attack.

“No rebuilding had been started yet” during the 2023-24 academic year under an interim superintendent, Hoiriis said, but when he assumed the superintendent role 15 months ago, the administration got to work on restoring lost data.

“It’s done, which is exciting,” Hoiriis said, which allows the district to submit an accurate budget report for 2023-24 to the DRA. “We will have our [report] for fiscal year ’25 done before the end of October, so we’ll actually then finally be current on both years, which is exciting. And I can start the job in present tense instead of past tense.”

Because the district did not have a “true number” for the DRA last year, and administrators made procedural errors while submitting reports about the annual school district meeting last spring, a procedural defect meeting, scheduled for Nov. 4, is necessary for DRA staff to determine this year’s tax rates for Alexandria, Bristol, Danbury and New Hampton.

“The DRA is definitely in our corner,” Hoiriis said, having told Business Administrator Angela Carpenter that “as soon as that procedural defect meeting happens, have your board sign the documents, send them to us the next day; we’re going to expedite everything.”

Selectboard members were also interested in how the school district is preparing students for the job market, with a focus on awareness of job opportunities in the area.

“When the kids get out of high school, where are they going to actually go to work and be able to stay? That’s a major concern,” Miller said.

Hoiriis explained that Amy Yeakel, the director of extended learning opportunities, takes students on monthly visits to expose them to careers in the Lakes Region.

“October was Manufacturing Month, and she took students to various manufacturing companies throughout the entire Lakes Region,” Hoiriis said. “She does a hospitality month. She’s done the medical field month. So every month, she’s exposing students to, you know, what jobs are in the Lakes Region.”

The superintendent also said he is interested improving employee retention, because a stable teaching staff invested in the community is more effective in helping students. He noted several people who had accepted employment in the district later dropped out, because of the lack of affordable housing or due to “politics.”