New Hampshire: The Real Facts

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE FROM THE KEENE CITIZENS GOVERNMENT REVIEW. BELOW YOU WILL FIND AN E-MAIL FROM SCHOOL BOARD FINANCE CHAIRPERSON LIZ COPPOLA. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY WITH REFERENCE TO THE KEENE MIDDLE SCHOOL ISSUE. PLEASE READ MS. COPPOLA’S MESSAGE AND THE SENTINEL PRESS RELEASE BELOW. EXTEND AN INVITATION TO HER EITHER THROUGH THIS KCGR E-MAIL ADDRESS OR VIA HER PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS. EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED WOULD BE: FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, ELKS LODGE, KEENE LYONS CLUB, ITALIAN CLUB, ORDER OF MOOSE LOYAL, SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER, AMERICAN LEGION POST 4, HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY OR ANY SMALL CITIZENS GROUP.

Carl A. Panza

“PLEASE GET INVOLVED… the world is run by those who show up”
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Good Morning -

For those of you who don't get the Sentinel or missed the story.... This is a wonderful opportunity for our community! The Board is going to be aggressively seeking public input on the topic - through a variety of venues - Public Hearings, Board Meetings, "Community Forums", surveys, casual neighbor hood chats, etc. I hope you will all be able to participate by providing your thoughts/concerns about the future of our middle school via one of the many opportunities. (E-mail, snail mail, and phone calls to me, or any other Board Member also work!!)

If you belong to a group or organization, formal or informal, who you believe would be interested in 1) getting a 15 minute overview of the situation, and 2) have ideas/concerns/questions/issues they would like shared with the Board regarding the future of Keene Middle School (renovated OR new), please let me know and I would be happy to come to a meeting.

Enjoy your day! - Liz

P.S. Please feel free to forward this message to interested Keene Residents.

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Press Release ….. For Immediate Release

August 4, 2008

The Keene Unified School District has received a $500,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to fund the cost of an in-depth study to determine the feasibility of building a new middle school on district-owned land adjacent to Jonathan Daniels School on Maple Avenue or renovating the current middle school located in downtown Keene. The study will be conducted by the firm of Frank P. Marinace Architect, PA of New Hampton, NH.

Receipt of the grant follows the defeat of a warrant article in March of 2008 to approve bond funding of $1,000,000 for the design of a new middle school facility on Maple Avenue. While a majority of voters approved the bond, the article failed to receive the required 60% majority.

The grant will enable planning on the future of Keene Middle School to move forward and give Keene residents the opportunity to compare both options in detail.

At the September 9, 2008 Keene School Board Meeting (in the LGIA at Keene High School at 6pm), the Board, along with Mr. Marinace, will present the expectations and timeline of the study.

Community involvement and participation in the process will be critical. With this in mind, a series of public forums and smaller discussion groups will be planned for residents to share their opinions on such topics as: educational specifications, environmental impact, traffic and transportation issues, the middle school’s role in the City’s Master Plan, and other factors that contribute to the design of modern educational facilities. The schedule of meetings will be announced at the September 9th Board Meeting.

Elizabeth Coppola, Chair of the Keene Middle School Ad Hoc Committee of the Keene Board of Education stated, “We are very excited about the opportunity this grant gives us to move forward with planning for the future of our middle school. The feasibility study will enable the Board and the residents of Keene to fully explore both options. Our middle school students, and our community will benefit from this highly informed decision making process. We are very grateful to the anonymous donors who have enabled us to move forward on this important project.”

A public hearing will be held prior to the September Board Meeting to accept the funds.