Newfound School Board considering building consolidation, hires consultant

BRISTOL — The Newfound Area School Board approved a $74,700 contract with Banwell Architects to look into a consolidation of schools. The consolidation would include converting Newfound Memorial Middle School into a regional elementary school and adding a wing to Newfound Regional High School to accommodate grades 7 and 8.

Banwell previously worked with the district’s building committee over several years, investigating whether to consolidate school buildings, build a new facility, or renovate existing structures. The goal was to have a proposal for voters to decide at the 2024 school district meeting, but the study was put on hold when three of seven towns were considering withdrawing from Newfound — which they subsequently did to form the Pasquaney School District.

Superintendent Paul Hoiriis explained at the school board’s Sept. 8 meeting, “We have asked them this time to look at a single project, which is to reduce the number of facilities for a district with our size population.

"We’ve asked them to do a plan and a proposal for a pre-K through 6 at our existing middle school, with some renovation, as well as the renovation here at the high school, adding a wing for 7-8.”

The consolidation would close the existing elementary schools in Bristol, Danbury and New Hampton, which are aging and becoming costly to maintain.

The contract has Banwell gathering additional information this fall, developing a proposal in the spring, and bringing final design options for the school board to consider next summer or fall.

“If this was something that we’re looking to do, it would be on the town meeting process of 2027,” Hoiriis said.

The work will not be as costly this time around, because Banwell has the data from its previous work, and consultants will need only to update the information before moving forward.

New Hampton’s representative to the school board, Francine Wendelboe, said, “You hate to spend the money, but, you know, the point has come where we can’t continue to bury our head in the sand. We have to move forward to the future, and what makes sense in the district.”

Hoiriis said renovating two buildings would be less expensive than the original plan to build a new regional facility.

“Sometimes, that’s not always the case when you say renovate versus new, but in this case, yes. They already determined that, in our elementary schools, unfortunately, our elementary schools are at a point where you’re going to have to put a lot of money into them, because they’re just in such rough shape.”

Hoiriis noted the firm Energy Efficient Investments Inc. of Merrimack, which has proposed energy efficiency solutions for the district, will make a presentation to the facilities committee at its next meeting.

“Some of their recommendations ... probably could go well with the timing of a renovation anyways, of two buildings versus as separate projects. But you’ll see some of those at the next meeting,” the superintendent said.

The money to pay the architects, Hoiriis explained, “will come from some realized savings this year — we didn’t fill all of our positions, as well as some of our hires were less than budgeted for someone who retired and someone else — and we’re going to carefully watch our budget and make sure it fits in. It makes sense to do it now.”

Meanwhile, Hoiriis and Wendelboe will travel to North Haverhill on Sept. 16, when Grafton County Superior Court will take up the district’s petition for a set of special school district meetings to consider the purchase of the TD Bank building to serve as headquarters for the school district. The central office plans to post the entire timeline for the process on the district’s website.

Newfound staff are still waiting for the Pasquaney School District’s attorney to review the asset separation agreement that would settle the allocation of money and equipment associated with the three towns that withdrew.