Merrimack Planning Board recommends naming high‑school coach’s booth for Joe Raycraft

The Merrimack Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend naming the high‑school stadium coach’s booth for Joe Raycraft, a longtime teacher and coach, and will forward the nomination, supporting letters and committee scores to the school board for final action.

The board reached its recommendation after members reviewed written endorsements and disclosed their evaluation scores. A letter from resident and Merrimack police deputy chief Matt Tarleton was read in support of the nomination, and several reference letters from former colleagues were cited.

A committee member summarized Raycraft’s service: “The commitment he gave to the kids at Merrimack School District was phenomenal,” and urged the board to score him highly across evaluation categories. Committee members then read their numeric scores aloud and asked staff to consolidate the results for transparency.

A staff member explained the policy threshold for a recommendation: “Each criterion should receive a combined committee average of 3 or better and then we need an average of 16 or better, a total average.” After tabulation the committee’s consolidated averages exceeded those thresholds.

Following the tabulation, a member moved to recommend naming the stadium coach’s booth for Coach Raycraft; another member seconded the motion. The board conducted a voice/hand vote and recorded the decision as unanimous in favor of forwarding the recommendation to the school board.

A member said Pat will draft the formal application and another member said they will bring it to the school board, noting the item "won’t be on the next agenda, just the next agenda" and that, if the school board accepts the recommendation, fundraising could begin this spring.

The Planning Board closed the naming item after confirming the paperwork and next steps and instructed designated members to deliver the application, letters and score summary to the school board.