MRSD Proposed Elementary Consolidation & Renovation Project

Mt. Caesar School students participated in a ceremony to mark the official opening of a new playground, the first milestone in a two-year project to renovate and expand the building and campus.

Roughly 240 students in Grades K-2 gathered around a climbing structure on Tuesday, Aug. 27, the first day of classes. With students counting down Principal Missy Suarez cut the gold ribbon, assisted by Superintendent Jeremy Rathbun.

Students then ran off to try each of the playground’s features — a sandbox, swings, slides, climbers, and bridges.

“This playground is so much fun!” one student offered.

The playground was designed and installed by Ben Shaffer Recreation. Hutter Construction Corp. of New Ipswich serves as construction manager for the project.

The play space is designed to meet the diverse needs of younger students, encouraging physical activity and socialization. The area is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including an accessible swing and padded surfaces.

“This is an exciting day, in that it’s the first sign that we’re making significant progress,” Superintendent Rathbun said. “Our playground is a valuable resource and we cannot wait to share it with our entire community.

The Monadnock Regional School District has begun a multi-year project to improve the Mt. Caesar, Emerson, Troy, and Gilsum STEAM Academy buildings. When completed, all Monadnock students will have access to a 21st century education in modern, safe, and energy-efficient learning spaces.

The Mt. Caesar project involves an expansion, plus significant renovations and systems upgrades within the existing building.

When completed at the end of 2025, the Mt. Caesar campus will support all students in Grades PreK-6 from Richmond, Roxbury, and Swanzey. In the coming weeks, contractors will begin installing exterior walls and start work on a second smaller playground.

SWANZEY — Superintendent Lisa A. Witte and School Board Chair Scott Peters wish to inform voters about the Monadnock Regional School District’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget ahead of the vote on the Annual School District Meeting warrant next month.

On Tuesday, March 14, voters in the six towns served by the district will be asked whether they’ll approve of multiple warrant articles, including the operating budget and the proposed renovation and consolidation of the district’s elementary schools.

The proposed operating budget is $34,111,157, which represents a 1.19% increase over the current year’s operating budget — a total increase of $399,954.

Additionally, voters will be asked whether they approve a separate $250,379 expenditure to support items addressed in the collective bargaining agreement with support staff. This funding would be added to the district’s operating budget for the coming year.

To view the entire Annual District Meeting warrant, click here.

Along with the operating budget, the district is asking voters to authorize a bond issue that would enable significant renovations to its elementary schools, including:

• Additions and renovations at Emerson Elementary School, Gilsum STEAM Academy, Mount Caesar Elementary School, and Troy Elementary School.
• Closing of Cutler Elementary School, with the Cutler population moving to Mount Caesar. This places students from Richmond, Roxbury, and Swanzey in preschool to Grade 6 on one campus.

The consolidation/renovation project will bring the buildings into compliance with modern building codes and the Americans with Disabilities Act, update HVAC systems, add energy-efficient lighting, and update electrical and septic systems, as well as improve campus safety and security. Facility upgrades will improve physical education and fine arts spaces, and support modern classroom technologies to ensure equitable education across the district.

The forecasted cost for the project is $41.5 million, with the state Department of Education contributing $19.4 million in aid to offset that cost if voters approve the project.

To complete the project, the district will seek to issue a bond. Doing so requires a combined three-fifths approval by voters in the sending communities of Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Richmond, Roxbury, Swanzey, and Troy.

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SWANZEY —  Superintendent Lisa Witte, School Board Chair Scott Peters and the Monadnock Regional School District invite members of the communities served by the district to upcoming listening sessions on the proposed building projects that would rebuild or rehabilitate multiple elementary schools.

Listening sessions are scheduled for the following dates and locations:

• Feb. 8 from 5-7 p.m. at Emerson Elementary School
• Feb. 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Troy Elementary School
• Feb. 15 from 5-7 p.m. at Mount Caesar Elementary School
• Feb. 16 from 5-7 p.m. at Gilsum STEAM Academy

At the listening sessions, members of the community will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals for significant updates and modernization of the facilities, which are being proposed simultaneously to expedite the improvements and keep costs down.

Community members will have an opportunity to ask questions about the project and learn more about the history of the project and where it stands today, including the work the Board has done to maintain community schools while re-developing existing facilities into modern, safe learning spaces.

To provide important context about the proposed work ahead of the listening sessions, the district has developed videos that provide a deeper look at the needs and proposed improvements at Gilsum, Emerson, Mount Caesar and Troy.

Voters should also explore the dedicated project website.

The proposed project calls for:

• Additions and renovations at Emerson Elementary School, Gilsum STEAM Academy, Mount Caesar Elementary School, and Troy Elementary School.
• Closing of Cutler Elementary School, with the Cutler population moving to Mount Caesar. This places students from Richmond, Roxbury, and Swanzey in preschool to Grade 6 on one campus.

The consolidation/renovation project will bring the buildings into compliance with modern building codes and the Americans with Disabilities Act, update HVAC systems, add energy-efficient lighting, and update electrical and septic systems, as well as improve campus safety and security. Facility upgrades will improve physical education and fine arts spaces, and support modern classroom technologies to ensure equitable education across the district.

To complete the project, the district will seek to issue a bond. Doing so requires a combined three-fifths approval by voters in the sending communities of Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Richmond, Roxbury, Swanzey, and Troy. The bonding article will appear on the Annual District Meeting warrant. The article will ultimately be voted on during the March 17 election.

Both Troy and Cutler date to the turn of the 20th century. Emerson opened in 1925, and Gilsum opened in 1956. The District engaged in a facilities study in 2017, followed by a feasibility study. The district has projected more than $33 million in basic repairs are needed.

New Hampshire Department of Education has approved its consolidation/renovation plan, marking a significant milestone in the effort to modernize the district’s educational facilities.

The New Hampshire Department of Education voted in November to approve the proposed modernization and consolidation of MRSD’s elementary schools, making the concurrent projects eligible for almost $19.4 million in state aid, accounting for just under half of the $41.5 million estimated project cost.

The Board of Education listed the Monadnock project as the third most-needed school construction project in the state.

SWANZEY — Superintendent Lisa A. Witte is pleased to invite members of Monadnock Regional School District communities to provide input on how the district should utilize state funding it received recently.

The district received $3,961,969 in funding from the New Hampshire Department of Education as part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which included $122.7 billion intended to support local school districts’ continued response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monadnock will receive funding from ARPA through a third round of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER).

Twenty percent of the funding awarded to local school districts is designated for mitigating learning loss that resulted from prolonged school closures and the transition to remote learning during the last two school years.

Residents of the towns Monadnock serves are encouraged to provide feedback on how the district should allocate its remaining ESSER funding, which will be factored into the district’s decisions.

Some of the permitted uses of the ESSER funding include, but are not limited to:

• Training and professional development for staff of the LEA on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
• Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of an LEA, including buildings operated by such agency.
• Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students and providing technology for online learning to all students.
• Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the district that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.
• Providing mental health services and supports, including through the implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools.
• Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs.
• Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care.
• School facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs.
• Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement.

For a complete list of eligible uses, as well as more background on ARPA and ESSER, click here.

Residents and community stakeholders are invited to submit their input via email by reaching out to grants@mrsd.org.

In compliance with AHERA, the Monadnock Regional School District is required to notify parents, teachers, and all other building occupants that an Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) is available to them in either the office of each school or in the SAU #93 office.  The AMP details the location of asbestos in each building and provides a record of inspections, re-inspections, periodic surveillance, and removal of asbestos.

Periodic surveillance of Asbestos Containing Building Material (ACBM) is conducted by district personnel every six months and a thorough re-inspection of ACBM is conducted once every three years by the District’s environmental consultant.  The most recent inspection was conducted in June 2020. RPF Asbestos Reinspection 6.10.20

If you require more detailed information, please call the SAU office at 603-352-6955 and staff will direct your inquiry to the District’s designated person for asbestos information.