New Hampshire: The Real FactsKeene Middle School Hearing
Dear Friends,
Over the next several weeks, we have a one-time opportunity to come together as a community and work together with the Keene Board of Education and an expert architect to learn about our options for the future of Keene's Middle School. Our choice for the middle school is one of the most important decisions we will make as a community. Whatever we choose to do will affect the community for decades to come. As Elizabeth Coppola, a board of education member and chair of the Keene Middle School Ad-hoc Commitee says, “This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to participate in a process that will allow us to make a well-informed decision about the future of Keene Middle School.”
The only way this great opportunity is going to work is if we all make the commitment to become involved in this process. We cannot sit on the sidelines and expect to learn about the options we have and expect the board of education to know how the community feels about these options. We don't have the choice of leaving this to someone else to do. It's too important!
At an introductory session, we heard from the architect hired for this project, Frank Marinace, about his approach to the project. Frank brings a wealth of New Hampshire school new construction and renovation experience to our project. His approach is based on doing a very detailed assessment of the options we have for renovation and new construction. As he goes about his work, we will have a great deal of useful information to inform our work and decisions. As the work progresses, information will be posted on the Keene School District website. Initial information is on the website, which you can access with the following link:
http://www.sau29.org/Districts/Keene/kmsbuild.asp
In a series of upcoming sessions, we will have an opportunity to get a good background on key aspects of the project and then participate in community forums for questions, discussion and expression of views. Here is a summary of the sessions coming up, as listed on the Keene School District website:
September 17, 7 p.m., KHS Auditorium
Topic: Educational Specifications – Determining What We Want in Our Middle School
Presenters: Edward Murdough, NH Dept. of Education; Dorothy Frazier, KMS Principal; and Frank Marinace, architect
September 20, 8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m., KHS LGIA (Large Group Instruction Area)
This is the follow-up workshop to the September 17th Community Forum
October 2, 7 p.m., KHS Auditorium
Topic: Environmental and Traffic Impact at the Current Middle School and Proposed Site on Maple Avenue.
Presenters: Carolyn Sarno of NEEP (Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships) and a traffic engineer.
October 4, 8:30 - 10 a.m. KHS LGIA
This is the follow-up workshop to the October 2nd Community Forum
October 20, 7 p.m. KHS Auditorium
Topic: How a Renovated or a New Middle School Fits in with the City's Master Plan.
Presenters: City of Keene Planning Department.
There will also be two appraisers (one local, one from outside the region) who will present their appraisals of the current middle school building and property.
Nov. 1 - 8:30 -10 a.m. KHS LGIA
This is the follow-up workshop to the October 20th Community Forum
The session coming up on Wednesday and the follow-up workshop on Saturday wll be a great way to get involved. You don't want to miss the sessions.
The Committee for the Best KMS fully supports this initiative. We all will be participating and hope to see many, many others from the community there, too. Don't miss this opportunity. You can learn more from our website
There is one other step you can take to make this a success for Keene and our future. Reach out to all of your friends and neighbors - let them know how important this is, that you will be participating and that their participation is just as important.
Regards,
The Committee for the Best Keene Middle School