It was a battle, but Dunbarton voters decided to give their elementary school more space and some much-needed structural repairs.
Residents had to get through 2½ hours of debate, warrant articles rearranged for consideration (and a motion that almost switched them back) and an hour-long waiting period to approve a $2.2 million facilities project.
For supporters, the wait seemed to be worth it – the Dunbarton Elementary School’s gym erupted into cheers when moderator Rene Ouellet read the vote of 194 – 61 in favor of the project.
The project will add three new classrooms and refurbish two existing classrooms into small instructional spaces, for a total of one new classroom. It will also fix the school’s HVAC system, redesign the front office area, repair parts of the building’s exterior and upgrade the school’s security system.
But first, residents had to decide if they wanted to approve the funding mechanism for the project through an article that added $240,000 to the Dunbarton School Capital Reserve Fund.
To pay for the project’s 10-year bond, the board plans to ask for between $230,000 and $240,000 for the next 10 years, which would be put into the capital reserve fund. The needed amount to pay off the bond would decrease as the bond went down, but the payments would stay the same to keep money in the fund. The board started asking for that money last year, a request that was approved by voters.
Some residents were wary of approving the $240,000 article before the $2.2 million project, saying it was unclear what the money would be spent on if the facilities project article failed. But others said setting aside money would be a good plan, noting the issues with the school wouldn’t be going away anytime soon. When it came down to it, the article passed with a majority vote.
Adding more space will allow Dunbarton to bring back its full-day kindergarten program at a cost of $96,000, which includes a full-time teacher and an aide. That’s all included in the school’s $6.9 million budget, which was also approved by voters.
Major increases in the budget are mostly attributed to tuition for Dunbarton’s middle and high school students, who are sent to Bow. Those costs increased by $172,368; there was also a $46,126 increase in special education costs.
The operating budget represents a $1.30 increase in the tax rate.