Windham Taxpayers

October 24, 2008
Pelham-Windham News

The athletic director for Windham High School has proposed the programs he would like to offer during the first year of the new facility’s operation. Windham High School is scheduled to open for the 2009-2010 school year. In the first year, only freshmen and sophomores will attend the new high school. Juniors and seniors will continue to attend Salem High School under a tuition agreement.

Athletic Director Bill Raycraft met with Windham School Board members on Tuesday, October 7, to present the programs he feels will be important to students when the new high school opens next year. Raycraft, who took on the job of high school athletic director this past July 1, said he based his proposals on the level of participation in area athletic youth organizations, at Windham Middle School and at Salem High School. He also said he based his ideas on athletic programs offered at similar high schools in New Hampshire, as well as a student survey he recently conducted. That survey was provided to students who are currently freshmen at Salem High School and will be sophomores at Windham High next year, as well as eighth graders at Windham Middle School, who will be freshmen at Windham High School in 2009-2010.

Raycraft said he also obtained feedback from other newer area high schools, including Bedford and Bow, as well as Windham’s own high school athletic committee.

The programs Raycraft hopes to develop with Windham High students include both individual and team sports. “There are a wide range of opportunities” he hopes to offer students, Raycraft said.

During the fall next year, Raycraft hopes to offer the following sports to boys: cross-country, football, golf, and soccer. For the girls next fall, he proposes offering cross-country, field hockey, golf, soccer, cheerleading, and volleyball.

Proposed winter sports for 2009-2010 include the following for boys: basketball, indoor track, ice hockey (co-ed), wrestling, gymnastics, swimming and alpine skiing. If approved by the school board, the girls will be offered the following winter sports next year: basketball, indoor track, ice hockey (co-ed) cheerleading, gymnastics, swimming, and alpine skiing.

In the spring of 2010, Raycraft is proposing the following athletic programs for boys: baseball, outdoor track, lacrosse, and tennis. For girls in the spring of 2010, he hopes to be able to offer softball, outdoor track, lacrosse, and tennis.

Raycraft is recommending that during the first year of operation Windham High School enter the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) with all programs listed as “sub-varsity. “ “This will allow Windham High School to effectively offer new sports programs at a pace that will properly develop the student athletes using reserve and junior varsity teams,” he said. “Starting with freshmen and sophomores, this will allow our students to participate with opposing players of similar skills and abilities … safely and competitively,” he explained.

Following the initial season of each sport in which Windham High School students participate, Raycraft plans to evaluate each program to determine a recommendation for their status for the following year, based on several criteria, including: available facilities, feasibility, participation level, the safety of participants, the availability of qualified coaches, NHIAA approval, scheduling availability and program sustainability.

It is his goal to move into the varsity level for all sports in the second year of operation, Raycraft said. He also said that it is likely that Windham High School will be listed as Class I, based on projected enrollment numbers. When all four grade levels are in attendance at the new high school, it is anticipated that there will be approximately 700 students.

October 24, 2008
Pelham-Windham News

Windham property owners will be paying higher taxes due to an increase in the 2008 tax rate, which was set by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Assessment (DRA) earlier this month.

Town Administrator David Sullivan announced the new numbers during the selectmen’s board meeting on Monday, October 20.

According to Sullivan, the 2008 tax rate has been set at $18 per $1,000 of property valuation. This compares with a 2007 tax rate of $16.10, translating into a $1.90 per $1,000 increase over last year’s tax rate.

As for the breakdown on the overall tax rate, the town portion of the 2008 assessment is $3.51 per $1,000 property valuation. The local school portion of the 2008 tax rate is $11.41 per $1,000 property valuation. The State School tax rate for 2008 is $2.20 per $1,000 property valuation. And the county portion of the 2008 tax rate, which saw a slight decrease from last year, is now set at 88 cents per $1,000 property valuation.

Sullivan said that the average home in Windham (approximately $400,000 in value) will see an increased tax burden for 2008 of about $800 over what was paid last year. Based on a $400,000 home, with a tax rate of $18 per $1,000 property valuation, the 2008 tax bill on that property will be about $7,200.

Sullivan said one of the major reasons for the increased tax rate is the fact that there was little increase in revenue this year due largely to the stagnant economy. During 2008, Windham saw only a one percent increase in net revenue. In recent years that increase has been about 4 percent, Sullivan said.

Tax Assessor Rex Norman said that the current equalization rate for Windham is at 105 percent, which indicates that property in Windham is assessed about five percent higher than market value. If the equalization rate were at 100 percent, then the tax assessment and the market value would be the same.

October 21, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM — The owner of a typical home in town will see a property tax increase of about $800, or almost 12 percent.

Town Manager Dave Sullivan told the selectmen last night that the state Department of Revenue Administration set the local tax rate at $18 per $1,000 of property valuation compared with the 2007 rate of $16.10.

The increase raised a few eyebrows and drew a few deep breaths when announced to the Board of Selectmen at its meeting.

Sullivan said a small overall gain in assessed valuation, about 1.5 percent, as opposed to the typical increase of about 4 percent, diminished the town’s ability to offset the tax increase.

The school portion of the tax accounted for the largest increase, rising from $9.98 to $11.41. The town rate increased to $3.51 from $3.01 last year.

Meanwhile, the state education property tax rate decreased to $2.20 from last year’s $2.22. And the Rockingham County tax rate dropped a penny to 88 cents.

The town’s median assessment for a home is about $400,000, Sullivan said.

This represents little change from the median assessment two years ago of $404,200.

The state set the town’s rate Friday. Bills are typically due within 30 days of being sent.

No announcement was made on when the bills will be mailed.

September 10, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM, N.H. — Voters soundly defeated a $1.25 million bond for a secondary access road to the new Windham High School yesterday, 794-986.

Article 1 on the special Town Meeting Ballot needed a 60 percent majority — 1,058 votes — to pass.

Voters were clearly dissatisfied with the town bringing forward a proposal similar to the one voters defeated in March.

“We said no and they wouldn’t take no for answer,” Linda Connors said after casting her ballot against the article.

Connors said spending in town is out of control, especially given the tough economic times. Her husband, John, agreed. He said the proposed secondary access road was an example of runaway spending.

Selectman Bruce Breton said the town may end up paying a hefty price for defeating the proposal.

“The town may lose their (school building) aid if the access road doesn’t go in,” he said.

Breton said he was disappointed the School Board had not done more to rally votes for the proposal.

But School Board Vice Chairman Bruce Anderson said he doesn’t think the defeat will influence the $17 million in school building aid the district is due to receive from the state.

“We have all of our state approvals,” he said.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said it’s clear voters don’t want a paved secondary access road and he, for one, will not bring forward a similar proposal in March.

But he said it is crucial school officials, town officials and the fire chief brainstorm to find a solution to the problem.

“Everybody agrees the school has to open by 2009,” Hohenberger said.

Fire Chief Tom McPherson has said he will not sign a permit to allow the school to open without a secondary access road.

Voters did approve, 1,170-571, having 83 acres of town land near Goodhue Road managed as a conservation easement by the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire.

September 5, 2008
Pelham-Windham News

Windham voters are being given a second opportunity to decide whether a second access road should be built at the site of Windham High School. The school is scheduled to open in September 2009 now. Voters will go to the polls to vote in the state primary and cast ballots on the proposed access road on Tuesday, September 9.

The special town meeting was petitioned by selectmen. Permission to hold the meeting was granted by Rockingham County Superior Court in early August.

A similar warrant article was presented to voters in March during the annual school district meeting. That article was defeated, however, and failed to garner even a simple majority, not even close to the required 60 percent majority needed for a bond issue.

During the school board workshop on Tuesday, September 2, the entire agenda was devoted to discussing the town’s latest proposed warrant article. Despite information being presented that indicated a second access road is not required before the school is opened, school board members remained at odds on whether it should be built. The currently proposed roadway is designed to meet town standards and would not be used just as a second emergency access to the high school. It would also provide access to the other side of Windham and thus be deemed a public road. There also is talk of new homes being built in that area sometime in the not-too-distant future, resulting in residents who would most likely benefit from the paved road.

Glenn Davis, the school district’s representative for the $53 million high school project, said he would “like to see the road go through, but I don’t think we need this access road for the school to open” next September. Davis read several passages from documents written by state officials indicating that the state fire marshal has already reviewed all current plans for the high school. “We have all the required approvals to open,” Davis said. Based on this documentation, Davis said, “I’m not sure that the (local) fire chief (Tom Mcpherson) does have the final say.”

McPherson has maintained he wants a second access to the school for the safety of students and staff. He has also said he is willing to work with town and school district administrators to resolve the issue and to come up with a solution. McPherson did not attend the September 2 workshop, but has said previously he wants to see Windham High School open on time.

School Board Member Mike Hatem said it was the fire marshal who gave the local fire chief the right to issue a final decision. “The fire marshal is not going to back down on this,” Hatem said, adding that trying to open the school without a second access could lose Windham $18 million in state educational aid.

According to Davis, the two main issues surrounding the road dilemma are funding and timing. “I want the high school to open on time,” he said. “And I don’t want neighbors suing neighbors.” Davis explained that he would hate to see the school district and town become so embattled that the issue could wind up in court. “There are other reasons for this road beside access to the high school,” he said, referring to the proposal to make the access a public road, rather than just a gated dirt or gravel road to prevent public access.

The proposed cost of the paved road is about $1.25 million; money which Davis said does not exist in the high school budget. If voters fail to pass the article on September 9, the money needed to build the road will not be found in the remaining high school construction budget. The next opportunity to bring it to a vote would be at the annual town or school district meeting in March. Davis said it would be difficult to get the road built between then and the beginning of school, less than a six-month period. “If the road doesn’t pass in September or March, we are left with an unfunded mandate,” Davis said. Davis said the school district needs to plan for the worst-case scenario. If voters pass the article on September 9, then further discussion “is a moot point,” Davis said. If it fails to pass, school officials need to come up with other options, he added.

During the past year or so, school board members and town officials have tried to work together in finding a solution to the second access road situation, but so far the issue is unresolved. “We jumped through every hoop. We did everything we could to solve the issue,” school board member Beverly Donovan said. “It’s just sad the way it’s played out.”

Davis said he wanted to emphasize that, at no time, did the school board do anything inappropriate in proposing the article last March pertaining to a second access road. School officials had hoped to receive 30 percent state aid by putting the article through the school district, rather than through the town side of government. Davis said school board members always had the best interests of taxpayers at heart.

Mike Hatem said he doesn’t like the idea that some people are taking a tone that blames selectmen for the current situation regarding a second access road. Instead of placing blame, he said, school board members should be focusing on the pros and cons of the road. The only con, in his opinion, Hatem said, is cost. Referring to the divided opinions in town, Hatem said, “We have a very angry town. I don’t understand why anyone on the school board would be opposed. The bottom half of the road is already town-owned.”

School Board Chairman Barbara Coish said she is opposed to the proposed warrant article. “I don’t think we need it,” she said. Coish said she’s not satisfied because the plans for the proposed road are not finished, nor is the cost of the proposal known. “How can the public vote on this question under these circumstances?” she asked. Coish also said she believes plans to build this road are substandard. “The lowest cost is not always the answer,” she said.

School Board Member Bruce Anderson questioned whether the school district should try to buy the land on which to build a second access road, then construct a dirt or gravel road that is gated except for emergency access. He said the cost for doing the project in that manner would be about $800,000. If the town wasn’t allowed to use the road for public access, could the school district obtain 30 percent aid from the state department of education? he wondered.

School Board Member Mark Brockmeier, who attended the meeting via a conference telephone call, said board members are spending too much time on “pre-emptive worrying.” “We have to wait for the vote on September 9,” Brockmeier said, then, if it doesn’t pass, board members need to explore other options.

Superintendent Frank Bass agreed with Brockmeier. “There are so many variables to take into account,” Bass said. “By finger-pointing, you’re only embroiling the situation,” he said. “The best thing to do is to wait and see what happens on September 9.” Bass also said other options have not been discussed by the full school board and will be approached should it become necessary after the votes are tallied next week.

When asked how they plan to vote on September 9, Donovan and Anderson both said they plan to vote for the road as proposed. “Do we need it?” Anderson said. “No. Would it be nice to have? Yes.” Coish said she will not for the road, contending it is not a requirement for opening the school. Hatem said he will vote in favor of the access because it is needed. Brockmeier said he will be voting as a private citizen on September 9 and does not care to share how he will vote.

“It’s really up to the taxpayers,” Glenn Davis said. “It all depends on their vote.”