GRA: "Everywhere you look at, you get wet thinking about this site."


Dedicated to Securing A Truly Perfect Location for Goffstown's Future Kindergarten & Elementary Schools

Planning Board Objects to Glen Lake Site
"Everywhere you look at, you get wet thinking about this site." - Planning Board member William J. Wynne

Transcript of Deliberations | Related Union Leader Article | Official Meeting Minutes

GOFFSTOWN, NH - At the September 22, 2005 meeting of the Goffstown Planning Board, members heard school superintendent Darryll Lockwood respond to some of their concerns about the proposed Glen Lake site.

When asked by board member JoAnn Duffy whether the DPW site had been on the original list of potential sites provided by the Board of Selectmen, Lockwood launched into a rambling review of the entire background of how the Glen Lake site was chosen, going back to 1999. After nearly 7 minutes, Duffy finally received an answer to her question: Yes, the DPW site was on the original list, and no, it had not been examined to the extent the Glen Lake site has been.

Also, the State Department of Environmental Services has yet to decide whether to grant the school district its requested permits to build on the 26-acre parcel (see related article), issuing a letter at the beginning of the week seeking more information from school officials. Lockwood said earlier in the meeting that the district planned to answer the state's questions promptly and expects the state to issue permits soon. But board member Duffy, who abstained from voting, held the opposite view, saying "this is a long way from getting approval from DES."

Lockwood also expressed concern that although state funding has been approved to build Goffstown's kindergarten, Goffstown could lose that money if another school district receives approval to build its own kindergarten first. The GRA subsequently contacted the State Department of Education to inquire as to whether or not Lockwood's statement was true. In fact, it was false. The DOE informed the GRA that Goffstown has been approved for Kindergarten Construction Aid and the Department of Education (DOE) has set aside approximately $2.2 million towards construction of the kindergarten. The DOE confirmed that as long as Goffstown continues to move towards a definitive opening date for kindergarten, that money will remain encumbered specifically for Goffstown, and cannot be "scooped up" by another school district as Lockwood publicly claimed.

In addition, the DOE confirmed that changing the site from Glen Lake to any other location will not endanger those monies in any way.

Later, during their deliberations, board members expressed their concerns over the proposed Glen Lake site, and their frustration at their inability to enforce any recommendation they could make. Click here to read the transcript of those deliberations.

Also see: