School Board, Windham Resident Clash on School Facilities

A recent letter written by a resident in Windham Patch became the subject of a heated debate during this week's Windham School Board meeting.

Carolyn Therrien had a back and forth with board member Michael Joanis related to her posting published March 5 titled "The Windham School District Prepared to Contract for Another School."

Joanis refuted many of the points made in Therrien's letter, including her statements on the core capacity at Windham High.

"You indicated in your article that we were promised 1,200 (students) core capacity at the high school and we only delivered 1,000," said Joanis. That is incorrect. The core capacity at Windham High School has been and is today 1,200.

Joanis also fired back on Therrien's point in her letter that the school district did not deliver on a high school that was expandable.

"That again is not true, we did deliver a high school that is expandable," he said, detailing the opportunity for 10 additional classrooms and the space to add a second gymnasium.

Therrien asked why that expandable space can't be used rather than a new school project.

But fellow board member Stephanie Wimmer clarified that the school is not expandable to house students such as eighth graders that would be segregated from the population.

In her letter, Therrien also criticizes the lack of public advertising for competitive bidding on a new seventh and eighth grade facility. She repeated that concern to Joanis after he explained to her that the project was competitively bid to four teams.

Joanis told Therrien that what she is suggesting is "not the way it works."

"It was not advertised, Mrs. Therrien," he said. "I've been doing construction for 25 years. I have never seen in the paper – 'the Windham School District would like you to solicit a proposal to build our $31 million school.'"

Instead, Joanis said the district developed criteria for the type of firms that they wanted to build a team to build a new school.

That criteria included firms that were N.H.-based, capable of being bonded to $31 million and have experience building K-8 schools.

"I don't think that most people realize that you're already getting prepared to sign a contract and get going," Therrien argued, explaining to the board that nothing was on the school district website.

The letter also slams the district for soliciting construction and design teams without the article being approved.

Board member Jerome Rekart asked Therrien why the district wouldn't be in the position to move forward with the will of the voters the very next day if Article 2 passes next week.

While she had the collective ear of the school board, Therrien also took aim at the date and time of the School Deliberative session, which took place on a Saturday night last month due to a major blizzard the night before.

Chairman Dr. Bruce Anderson shot down that concern, telling Therrien that the choice to schedule the annual meeting for a Saturday was made by School District Moderator Betty Dunn.

"That was her call," said Anderson. "I believe she put outlets to all the cable channels and did everything that she could to communicated it."

Not addressed in the discussion was Therrien's comments on state aid made in her letter. She concluded the post noting that a new school on London Bridge Road wouldn't be eligible for money from the state. That was an item previously criticized in public by School Board candidate Dennis Senibaldi.

Voters will head to the polls March 12 to choose 'yes' or 'no' for a new school.