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Frequently Asked Questions on the
North Haven Community School Building Project
Why is a new school needed on North Haven?
North Haven's Community School (NHCS) is one of three remaining K - 12 island schools in Maine. The school has a New England Association School & Colleges (NEASC) fully accredited academic program that has been frequently recognized for its successes, and was recently deemed a consistently "High Performing School" by state and federal No Child Left Behind Act standards. While the programs have proved their merit, the current school building is seriously failing. Some of the major issues:
• The NHCS facility has structural and mechanical issues that plague the school from the roof to the floor.
• The heating and ventilation system are antiquated and functioning very poorly.
• There is encapsulated asbestos in the ceilings
• The facility does not meet most standards for ADA (disability) code.
• A ten-year old "temporary" mobile facility currently housing three classrooms is not a long-term solution.
• The classroom and gathering spaces don't meet the needs of our programs including basic classroom space needs as well as library, lab, and physical education requirements. The NEASC accreditation team has said that we must find a solution to our facility shortcomings and space needs before we apply for re-accreditation in 2010.
After nearly ten years of School Board consideration, numerous engineering studies, extensive consideration of both renovation and building proposals, and much public debate, the voters of North Haven approved a plan to build a new school in 2004.
What is the total cost of the school? How much of the new school will come from taxes and how much from private funds?
The total cost of a new school facility is $7,500,000, with $1.9 million dollars to come from the town of North Haven through a 20-year bond to be paid by property tax payers, and $5,600,000 to be privately fundraised. The Town cannot bond for the local portion until all $5.6 million in private funds is raised in either gifts or pledges.
While NHCS did apply for state funds, general state funding for school construction is not available for this project at this time. School construction funds are determined by a state rating system and a small number of schools are selected every two years. Currently, the State Board of Education is giving priority to regional planning and consolidation of new buildings and strongly discourages small school construction, especially new high schools with less than 300 students. The state's expectation is either that local taxpayers will approve tax increases to fund new buildings, consolidate with another district, or seek private funds to finance construction. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples around the state of public schools that have been built with all local and/or private funds.
We will receive limited state funds (up to $130,000) from the state "High Performing School" program of the Efficiency Maine program for the purpose of buying down the costs of highly efficient equipment and applying for LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Has the town considered sending high school students to Vinalhaven or the mainland and not rebuilding the high school?
There was public discussion of the ramifications and savings associated with sending high school students to Vinalhaven and closing North Haven's high school. Superintendent Tom Marx did an analysis of the cost savings of sending high school students to Vinalhaven. The analysis took into account a variety of financial factors including the fact that many teachers share responsibilities teaching high school, middle, and elementary school students (including physical education, art, music, special education, guidance, language, etc); the overhead costs of operating a school building; tuition costs; and added transportation costs for transporting students across the thoroughfare and to the Vinalhaven School, it was found that a total of $17,350 in direct costs would be saved by closing the North Haven High School. (For a full copy of this analysis please contact the NHCS Building Fund).
In addition, many citizens felt strongly that the loss of the high school and the activities associated with it from sports to music to open houses and special projects to drama would be a huge blow to the sense of community on the island, especially in the winter. Many parents with high school students said that if their teenage kids were forced to leave the island for high school, they might consider leaving the island for another community where the logistical challenges for both their students transportation and their participation as parents in their child's activities would not be so challenging.
More difficult to measure would be the impact of the loss of the high school on businesses and jobs on North Haven. NHCS is currently the largest employer on the island. In addition NHCS high school students are allowed to leave the school to visit the two grocery stores for lunch. Many students and teachers eat lunch at the stores daily - providing much needed business to keep the stores going in the winter months.
Has the town considered renovation as an alternative to a new facility?
In the late 1990's renovation was seriously considered by the town to address the facility concerns and some of the space needs of the school. Site and building reviews were conducted by several engineering and architecture firms and a renovation and expansion plan was presented to the town for its consideration. Many people found the plan to be a temporary and short-term solution, not addressing some of the building's major long-term issues and space needs. In addition, many questioned the cost-effectiveness of attempting to "patch" what had become an inadequate and failing structure. The voters turned down the renovation plan and many parents and citizens urged the school board to consider long-term solutions.
Are the year-round people of North Haven supportive of this project?
Clearly, a campaign of this magnitude requires the support of all North Haven residents - especially the commitment of year-round community members. While there were early concerns about the tax implications and early designs for the new school project, over the past few years a vast majority of islanders have rallied behind this project - showing their support with their financial contributions and attendance at school related events.
The NHCS Building Fund kicked off the capital campaign welcoming in 2006 with an early New Year's Eve Party at the North Haven Community Building with more than 150 year round residents, including many students, parents, grandparents and community members. The campaign had a goal to launch our efforts with at least $100,000 raised and pledged from at least 150 community members. Already more than 200 residents and businesses have donated well over $100,000 to the campaign with 100% participation from the school staff and school board and broad participation from community leaders and parents. In addition, many local businesses stepped up after Cooper Construction issued a New Year's Challenge to other local businesses which has already raised more than $12,500 from local businesses. Since New Year's Eve, regular events have continued on the island including, a "Polar Plunge" where more than 100 islanders watched 18 brave souls plunge into the icy waters of Pulpit Harbor on April 1 st , including our island doctor Del Olson and school librarian Kate Quinn and a recent school Renaissance Fair, attended by more than 200 islanders - many whom gnawed on turkey drumsticks in costume!
Why will the new school cost $7,500,000 and what has been done to control costs?
The current plan for the new school is just less than 22,000 square feet, which is 8,000 square feet less than the first iteration of the building design that was presented to the public. It is planned to be a wonderful, light, and warm space, but still modest in size with small classrooms built for our current school's capacity of 60 - 80 students. The design has been reconsidered several times to control costs, ensure an appropriate design for the island and school program, and to ensure the building elements can be practically built on an island. Many changes have been made, in addition to a reduction of square footage of the building that will reduce construction costs, from a change in the amount of concrete that will be used in the building to the use of panelized building elements.
Building on offshore islands is more expensive for a variety of reasons, including transportation and utility costs. Therefore, a 1.5 inflation factor has been applied to make up for this "island factor," a rate based on local industry averages and the recent Vinalhaven school construction experience. Removing the island factor (if this new school project were built on the mainland), this project would have an estimated cost of $5,000,000.
In addition, nationally the cost of building supplies is up substantially, even prior to Hurricane Katrina's devastation. As of data available in July 2005, over the past two years shortages have driven up the price of a number of key building materials including structural steel (up 64 percent), ready-mixed concrete (up 16 percent), lumber (up 17 percent), copper (up 51 percent) and brick (up 8 percent), according to The Associated General Contractors of America.
What is being done to minimize future operating costs?
Every effort is being made to ensure that the new facility will be highly efficient, reducing school energy consumption and yearly operating costs. We applied and were accepted into the State's Efficiency Maine "High Performing Schools" Program and will be eligible for technical advice and design, implementation, and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification grants of up to $130,000. This program will help the school model its future energy consumption and buy down the costs of highly efficient technologies that will save the school and community money for yearly and long-term operating costs. The School Building Committee is also working closely with the architect on creative and reasonable energy saving ideas. The NHCS Building Fund is seeking to make this project a model for efficient small school construction.
Changes have also been made to the site, building placement, and the building to maximize efficiency. For example, the building committee worked with our architect, Stephen Blatt, with recommendations from a group of architects who spend summers on North Haven to find the most strategic placement of the building to ensure solar gain and the best use of current and new solar panels. These collaborative cost-saving efforts will continue to occur as we refine the plans for the new facility.
Who designed the new school and who has been involved in the process?
After a community selection process, the NHCS School Board hired architect Stephen Blatt, who has significant experience designing Maine schools, to design the NHCS facility in 2002. Several designs and sizes for the new school project were proposed. The most recent school board-approved design has had significant community involvement. Last year, in an effort to shrink the size of the building and refine its design, the school board appointed a Building Committee made up of summer and year round residents and led by NHCS science and math teacher John Dietter. The committee has met regularly for more than a year working to reduce the size and costs of the building, ensure its efficiency, and make design recommendations. A sub-committee of architects who summer on North Haven, including Harry Cobb, Perry Morgan, John Tittman, Henry Miller and Laurie Hawkinson, has also advised the committee. Their design and construction recommendations have been enormously helpful to the final design.
How many students is the new school being built for?
The new school plan is designed for approximately 80 students but unlike mainland schools with standard class sizes, the answer to "how many kids are you building for" is not a simple formula or answer. Because our school is small and each class size can vary significantly from year to year, designing rooms and classrooms with uniform sizes doesn't work well. While North Haven has an average class size of 5 students, some classes are as small as 2 or 3 students, while other classes have 10 or more in a grade. The new design responds to that fluctuation very directly, with varying classroom sizes, so teachers may change classrooms from year to year to accommodate very large or small classes. We have more rooms that can be used for multiple purposes, rooms that can be shared and utilized for community use, and classrooms and shared spaces that we believe will promote better learning and school community parnership.
North Haven has maintained a relatively stable population over the last twenty-five years. The school's peak enrollment during this period was 85 students in the 1996-97 school year and the low was in 1981-82 when the population dipped to 56 students. Twenty-five years ago the school had 75 students and today, as of March, the school has 71 enrolled students.
What are the reasons for including a gymnasium in the new facility proposal?
There is an attached gymnasium included in the new school facility proposal. The current "Community Building", used as a school gymnasium, is rented from the town and has served North Haven well for many years since it was built by townspeople with the generous support of the Lamont Family in 1957. But today, the near-fifty year-old Butler Building no longer meets school needs. The court is too small for regulation play for high school basketball, requiring North Haven teams to make a trip to Vinalhaven or off-island for playoff "home games". The building also has an inadequate floor for safe play, is difficult to heat and ventilate, and lacks sufficient space for fans, lockers, and bathrooms for home and visiting teams and fans. In addition, the location of the gymnasium has long presented challenges and additional transportation costs for the school. Students must be bused for daily physical education classes and, during rainy or extremely cold periods, younger students must stay inside for recess rather than get needed exercise. We believe a new gymnasium would be well used for all kinds of community purposes from town meetings to adult physical activity to large community gatherings to school dances. The town has already begun discussing how the current Community Building could be used for other needed town purposes when a new school gymnasium is built.
How can I help?
This ambitious but crucial project will be the largest capital campaign in the history of North Haven. To make the project a reality the "Our Town, Our School" Committee/NHCS Building Fund will need many, many people who care about the future of North Haven to donate both their time and money. If you want to be involved in the campaign, please get in touch with us.
All contributions are tax deductible to the extent of the law and checks can be written to MSAD #7/NHCS Building Fund. Credit card contributions can also be accepted, and pledges can be made for up to a three-year period. We also accept donations of securities and can give interested individuals more information on that.
We need donations of all sizes, and volunteers willing to help solicit funds, host events, and organize fundraising activities. Contact campaign director Hannah Pingree at hannah@pingree.com or call Hannah or Callie Davisson at the campaign office at 207-867-4405. Also follow our progress at the website: www.nhcsbuildingfund.org .
Is the school looking off-island for funding?
The North Haven Community School fundraising staff and volunteers are working hard to search out any and all potential funding options for this project. In addition to contributions from both year-round and seasonal North Haven residents, we are seeking funding from national and state granting organizations, specific educational foundations, corporations with an interest in Maine and the islands, as well as off-island donors who are interested in the future of year-round island communities. We have also solicited alumni of North Haven Community School who no longer live on island, but do care about the future of the school. Again, we have been accepted into the State's "High Performing Schools" program and will receive up to $130,000 in construction funds. We have also received an MBNA grant for $50,000.
Where does the campaign currently stand?
As of the writing of this document (mid-May 2006), the capital campaign is moving forward in full force, with the goal of completing the fundraising by the end of 2006. That will allow us to begin construction in the spring of 2007 and complete the school by 2008. Already, we feel very bolstered by the support we have received and look forward to making an announcement early in the summer about where the campaign stands. We have already received many major gifts both solicited and unsolicited from individuals, foundations, corporations and local businesses and have received hundreds of contributions to date. We have secured several major early leadership gifts and we are currently working to match a $500,000 challenge grant. We are very grateful for all of our early supporters and look forward to growing our list of contributors throughout the year.
During the summer of 2006 we will be doing numerous events to raise awareness and funds for this project including a July summer campaign kick-off event and a major Community Days Event on Saturday, August 12th.
Stay tuned and we hope you will join us!