COVID relief funds to Laconia schools may pay for high school building and air quality projects

LACONIA — The Laconia School District will spend $90,000 of the $13 million in COVID relief funds it received in 2021 for engineers’ plans to improve air quality at the high school and district administrative offices, and make building improvements at the high school and Huot Technical Center.

Since an air quality assessment showed problems at Laconia High School and district offices in 2020, those areas have relied on 35 portable air purifiers. The plans will also reconfigure the high school cafeteria serving area, turn a plumbing and heating room at the Huot Center into a classroom, and upgrade bathrooms and locker rooms. The renovation projects would take place over the next two years, and be completed by September 2024, Superintendent Steve Tucker said.

Earlier this month the Laconia School Board voted unanimously to use the federal grant money, which will enable Rist Frost Shumway, an engineering and design firm, and Marinace Architects to furnish recommendations and construction plans. The district will then submit a proposal to the state, Tucker said.

Funds for the project will come from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that were part of federal American Rescue Plan allocations, intended to bolster schools and education in the wake of COVID. Construction ideally will be completed using that money, Tucker said.

— Roberta Baker