Grant could get city off the hook for $1M school traffic project

LACONIA — The project to solve Elm Street School’s traffic woes will likely cost around $1 million, the city’s school board learned at a meeting in November. They heard Tuesday night it’s possible the project’s cost could be covered under a federal grant.

In other business, the board accepted a donation from Laconia Country Club, which will be used to help pay for a completed playground improvement project, and revised a policy that details how administrators should pursue unpaid student meal debt.

The grant in question is offered by the Northern Borders Regional Commission and its Catalyst Program, a competitive grant aimed at stimulating economic growth in the Northern Borders states, which include New Hampshire. The program makes use of $50 million in federal funds, authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Catalyst Program offers awards of up to $1 million for infrastructure projects, or up to $3 million if a project meets certain criteria.

Laconia could use one of those grants, because as they found out through a presentation offered by the engineering firm Weston & Sampson on Nov. 19, it’s likely going to cost just an estimated $1 million to solve the problem of traffic backing up down Elm Street, nearly to the country club, as parents queue to pick up their children at dismissal time. Of the three options presented to the board, the informal consensus seems to be that constructing a new road, from the driveway used to access Bond Beach, would allow vehicles to line up without disrupting the flow of traffic.

“This is a really significant opportunity,” said Superintendent Bob Champlin. “The issue is it’s coming really fast,” as the deadline for applications is Friday, Feb. 28.

The board supported the proposal to apply for the federal funding.

Lunch debt

Outstanding debt associated with food service continues to be a problem for the district, but the board bristled at a revised policy, brought before them in late 2024, which would have made the student aware of a substantial unpaid bill.

The policy holds that every student will be offered a healthy meal regardless of their ability to pay. At issue was a provision that was proposed to describe the district’s response to situations in which a significant debt has built up, and parents haven’t responded to phone calls, emails or other attempts by administrators to reconcile the debt.

As proposed earlier this school year, the policy had initially stipulated that students in high school would be approached by the building principal, who would have a private conversation with the student to ask them to encourage their parent or guardian to resolve the debt. This didn’t sit well with other board members, including Laura Dunn, who at a December meeting noted the proposed policy seemed to run against the district’s other policies focusing on student’s health.

“The data is very clear that if students are hungry, they’re not learning. So I don’t feel that this aligns with our strategic plan,” Dunn said in a meeting in December.

The wording was updated by the policy committee, and on Tuesday night the board voted unanimously to approve it. Administrators are now told to attempt use email, phone calls and the United States Postal Service to communicate with parents. If those attempts fail, then a sealed envelope, addressed to the parent, may be sent home with a student.

“There will no longer be any kind of discussion with a student, it is all being dealt with through a guardian or parent,” said Karin Salome, chair of the board’s policy committee. “We’re trying to see what we can do to make resolution of some extremely delinquent meal accounts.”

“Thank you to the policy committee for their patience in working through all that language,” said board member Jennifer Anderson.

Country Club helps kids play

All three of the city’s elementary schools have refreshed playgrounds, a $488,000 project funded through a reserve account with augmentation by an ongoing capital campaign.

That campaign has now reached about $200,000, thanks to the latest donation from the Laconia Country Club, which raised nearly $30,000 by auctioning off a membership through the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction.

Charlie Wheeler, general manager of the country club, said the windfall would be split, with half going to the Children’s Auction and the other half — $14,500 — donated to the playground project.

Present for the discussion were elementary principals Michaela Champlin, Eric Johnson and Elisa Guerriero.

Michaela Champlin said when the playground committee met last week, “all the parents there did share that they have spent time outside of school visiting other playgrounds with their families, which is what we had hoped for in the committee.”

At Pleasant Street, Guerriero said, “The highlight is that zipline. I think every teacher has gone down it, including myself,” usually urged on by students. “I’m there late at night and seeing families using the playground after school hours is pretty amazing.”

Johnson said one of his students uses a wheelchair, and, “for the first time, there are things she can actually use. She has a lot of friends, her friends can be on the equipment with her. The addition of that ADA equipment has been wonderful.”