SAU 8 School District Moves To Place Sale Of Central Office, East Concord Acreage, On November Ballot

CONCORD, NH — The SAU 8 Concord School District Board of Education unanimously voted Monday night to begin the public hearing process to potentially place two questions on the ballot in November to gauge voter interest in selling two premium properties in its portfolio.

The board voted 9-0 to request hearings to place the sale of the Central Office at 38 Liberty St., the former Dewey Elementary School, on the ballot. The board also voted 8-0-1 to request public hearings and notices to place the sale of 59 acres of land abutting the Mill Brook Primary School and Broken Ground Elementary School at 11 Curtisville Road on the ballot. The land is currently zoned RM (medium-density residential).

The one board member abstaining from the second question was Sarah Sadowski, an at-large school board member who lives near Broken Ground and Mill Brook.

Both proposals were sponsored by Cara Meeker, a Ward B zone member.

In speaking to the first motion, Meeker said, during the budget hearings, it became apparent the district landholdings had to be considered for sale. She said it would be better to get a sense of the voters now for a Dewey sale before moving the central office to space at Concord High School.

“That is just something that is not feasible this year,” she said.

But by putting it on the ballot, the board would be asking the public what they think about the sale. It would be in the context of the bigger conversation, she said, of reshaping the district with its fiscal realities.

Madeleine Mineau, who was elected to the Ward A zone seat last year, agreed, saying it would be worth finding out sooner rather than later, the value of Dewey before moving administration out of the building.

After the first proposal was approved, Meeker made the second proposal concerning the 59 acres.

Since there was no longer a plan for a middle school on the east side and the land was “valuable,” it was time to consider selling the land. Meeker added she did not know how much should be sold or what should be done with it. She added at least 1 acre of land should be sold off Curtisville Road. The charter requires any sale of land over an acre to go before the voters.

Jess Campbell, another Ward A zone member, and Mineau agreed it was good to find out what the voters thought.

Pamela Walsh, the president of the school board, said there were also potential operating cost savings from the sale of the properties, since they must be maintained and insured. She suggested the money be used to restock the reserve funds and offset the cost of the new middle school project, and redevelopment or sales could provide financial benefit to the city.

Last year, voters approved the sale of the former Eastman School. Across several weeks, the board has been exhorting members of the public to come forward to serve on the Eastman School Sale Advisory Committee.

Terry Wolf, the public information officer for the department, said as of two weeks ago, no members of the committee had been selected, and no meetings had been scheduled. Meetings are expected to start sometime in April.

Do you have a news tip? Email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 217 communities — and expanding every day. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.