Exeter School District Warrant - 2002 Annual Meeting

EXETER REGION COOPERATIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT WARRANT

To the inhabitants of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District, County of Rockingham, State of New Hampshire, qualified to vote upon District affairs:

You are hereby notified to meet as follows:

FIRST SESSION: At the Exeter High School - Talbot Gymnasium in Exeter, New Hampshire on Thursday, February 7, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. for explanation, discussion, debate, and possible amendment of the following warrant articles:

1. Shall the District: raise and appropriate the sum of $3,500,000 for the purpose of Exeter High School site renovations, such sum to be raised through the issuance of bonds or notes under and in compliance with the Municipal Finance Act, RSA 33:1 et seq, as amended; and authorize the School Board to invest said monies and to use up to $50,000 of the earnings thereon for said project; and authorize the School Board to issue, negotiate, sell and deliver said bonds and notes, and determine the rates of interest thereon and the maturity and other terms thereof; and authorize the School Board to take any other action or pass any other vote relative thereto; and further authorize the School Board to apply for, accept, and expend for said project money from any state, federal, or other governmental unit or private source which becomes available during the fiscal year? [Note: Under RSA 198:15-a through 15-h, on an annual basis, the State will pay the District a sum equal to 55% of each annual principal payment on the bonds; such payments to be made by the State to the extent that funds are appropriated for such purposes by the State legislature. With such appropriations, total State payments toward the cost of the project would aggregate $1,925,000]. (A 3/5 vote is necessary to authorize the issuance of said notes or bonds. The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

2. Shall the District raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $31,150,378 Should this article be defeated, the operating budget shall be $30,790,274, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the District or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only. (The School Board recommends $31,150,378, as set forth on said budget.)

3. Shall the District raise and appropriate the sum of the amount of the June 30, 2002 undesignated fund balance (surplus), up to $691,645, to be added to the capital reserve fund under RSA 35:1 established by the 1998 District meeting for the purpose of construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of school buildings and/or school ground site improvements, including associated engineering and architectural fees? [The purpose of this appropriation is to appropriate into said capital reserve fund an amount representing a portion of one year of debt service expense (principal and interest) which was included in the July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002 budget and which the District would have incurred had the District issued bonds as authorized by vote of the 2000 annual meeting for the Exeter High School renovation project.] (The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

4. Shall the District authorize the School Board to enter into a twenty year lease agreement for 65,000 (or more) square feet of space to relocate Seacoast School of Technology and raise and appropriate the sum of up to $368,355 for the first year’s rent. The School Board is authorized to select the space and negotiate the terms of the lease agreement. The lease shall contain a non-appropriation “escape “ clause. (The $368,355 to be appropriated hereunder equals the amount appropriated for 2001-2002 debt service on the Exeter High School renovation project bonds less the amount appropriated under Article 3, above.) This is a special warrant article. (The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

5. Shall the District raise and appropriate to the expendable trust fund known as the “Maintenance Fund” (established by the 2001 District meeting for the purpose of funding long term and/or unexpected maintenance/repair projects of school buildings and grounds) the sum of the amount of the June 30, 2002 undesignated fund balance (surplus), after giving effect to any appropriation under Article 3, above, up to $200,000? (The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

6. Shall the District raise and appropriate the sum of $198,492 for the purpose of implementing technology recommendations made by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in their year 2001 “Report of the Visiting Committee”, which include acquisition of computer equipment and software and professional development training. [Also, this appropriation is a portion of the third year of a three year plan, the first two years of which were funded in 1998 ($480,400) and 1999 ($480,400). This appropriation is a portion of the amount recommended for the third year of that plan.] This is a special warrant article. (The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

7. Shall the District create an expendable trust fund under the provisions of RSA 198:20-c, to be known as the “Special Education Trust Fund”, for the purpose of funding unanticipated special education expenses and name the School Board as agents to expend from said fund, and limit the accumulated balance of said fund (including interest) to $300,000, and limit the source of appropriations to said fund to the prior year's undesignated fund balance (surplus), and raise and appropriate to said fund the sum of the amount of the June 30, 2002 undesignated fund balance (surplus), after giving effect to any appropriations under Articles 3 and 5, above, up to $100,000? (The School Board recommends this appropriation.)

8. On petition of Kevin Underriner and others:

Recognizing that a state of emergency exists with regard to the education of our children, in that the facilities of the Exeter High School fail to meet guidelines established by federal agencies, state agencies, and accreditation boards, shall the voters of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District vote to rescind the bond authorized for the purpose of “construction of renovations to the Exeter High School and further for the purpose of acquiring any adjacent land in connection therewith” by Article 1 in the ballot of March 14, 2000, and to form a nine-person committee whose members are appointed by the Selectmen of District towns at the same membership ratios as on the ERCSD school board whose objective is to develop a new high school construction proposal based upon competitive bidding procedures, that will provide facilities that meet or exceed growth projections stated by the ERCSD for the life of the project financing, that will be presented to the District for vote in a special meeting to be announced by the committee, on or before October 31, 2002, and to authorize the ERCSD school board to raise and appropriate funds from the capital reserve fund established in the 1998 District meeting for the purpose of “construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of school buildings and/or school ground site improvements, including associated engineering and architectural fees” specified by the committee as necessary for the development of the proposals not to exceed $100,000? (The School Board does not recommend adoption of this article.)

9. To hear reports of agents, auditors, and committees or officers heretofore chosen.

10. To transact any other business which may legally come before the meeting.

SECOND SESSION: At the polling places designated below on Tuesday, March 12, 2002, to choose the following School District Officers: School District Board Member (East Kingston), School District Board Member (Exeter), School District Board Member (Stratham), and School District Moderator; and vote on the articles listed as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 as those articles may be amended at the First Session; by ballot, the polls to be open at the polling places at the hours designated below:

Given under our hands at ________________ on this _____ day of January, 2002.

EXETER REGION COOPERATIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

_______________________________ ________________________________

Frank Morang Kim Casey

_______________________________ ________________________________

Roy Morrisette Linda Henderson

_______________________________ ________________________________

Gregory A. Kann Claudia Scofield

_______________________________ ________________________________

Ray Trueman Lucy Cushman

________________________________

Donna Bates

January 9, 2002

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