Goffstown schools present capital-improvement needs to Planning Board; say state aid is tight and HB1610 could force liquidation of contingency fund

Scott Gross, operations manager for SEIU 19 representing the school district, told the Goffstown Planning Board Capital Improvement Committee that the district's capital-improvement plan largely mirrors last year's requests but funding prospects remain poor.

"The chances of us getting it are like slim, like Uber slim," Gross said, describing the state's annual school-construction aid pool as "about $50 million every year" and noting that a single Concord Middle School project consumed a whole biennium's worth of funding.

Gross outlined several near-term items the district included on the matrix to inform town planning, even if state or voter funding is unlikely. He described project 77, a conceptual expansion of the high-school parking area behind the playing surface, for which town engineering provided diagrams and DPW has offered to coordinate. Gross said he has contacted Eversource about easements and that the town will check for potential wetland constraints before returning cost and design recommendations to the school board.

Another project under consideration is a varsity baseball field on district land behind the high school. Gross said preliminary DPW work shows notable elevation changes and grading challenges and estimated the construction cost at "easily $1 million," not including fences and scoreboards. That project is on hold until funding is identified.

On emergency preparedness, Gross said the district has pursued a FEMA grant for a high-school generator; after adjustments to the shelter footprint the project's recent re-estimate is $500,000 (previously shown as $300,000). Gross said the district will reapply and adjust the matrix to show the $500,000 estimate in the 26-27 column.

The presentation included a warning about state legislation: Gross said House Bill 1610, which he reported had passed the House and Senate, would "force the liquidation of the school district's 5% contingency fund," a voter-approved reserve the district has used for emergencies such as a residential special-education placement that previously cost about $550,000. "It's devastating," Gross said, and the school board has acted to encumber certain funds pending further action and in hopes of a gubernatorial veto.

Committee members pressed for accuracy in the district's matrix: Gross acknowledged several column and date errors, committed to correcting the matrix with planning staff, and said he would provide a revised version highlighted for easier review. He emphasized the district's concern that stacking large bond requests in the same years can create tax-rate fluctuations and argued for looking at alternatives, including municipal leases and spreading projects over multiple years.

On equipment and technology, Gross said replacement timelines have been stretched by budget constraints and supply-chain pressures; he noted computer-lab equipment is typically on an eight-year replacement cycle but often gets stretched to ten years, and reported that teacher laptop prices have recently risen from roughly $825$850 to about $1,200.

The committee did not take formal actions on the projects at the meeting; Gross said he would update the matrix and return with revisions if requested. The meeting ended with scheduling coordination for upcoming department presentations and a voice vote to adjourn.