Conant Middle High School is looking to expand its facilities and programming for career and technical training with a $22 million addition, with the majority of funding potentially coming from the state.

During an information session Tuesday, Superintendent Reuben Duncan, along with school staff and architects, presented the plan for the new addition, which would include classroom space for a new culinary arts program, a public safety program and better facilities for the school’s existing construction trades program.

The session also included a tour of the current space.

Duncan explained that up to 75% of the funding for the addition could come from a funding pool provided by the state for career and technical education programming and building improvements.

Duncan said that Milford and the collaborative Region 14 that includes ConVal Regional High School, Mascenic Regional High School and Conant are being considered for those funds this year, the last of a 20-year cycle of funding.

“This is a one-time opportunity to take advantage of,” Duncan said.

Duncan said that while the potential is available for a 75-25 split on applicable costs of the project, there are some things the grant funding does not cover, such as site work. This means that in reality, the overall cost of the project will be split more like 67% covered by the state, Duncan explained.

If the state approves the funds, the district would receive $14.75 million to $15.5 million from the state, with the district responsible for $6.5 million to $7.25 million.

While Duncan acknowledged the price, he said it was not wildly out of line with previous large projects the district has taken on in the past, such as the replacement of the school HVAC systems, and said that the district will never again have the opportunity to build this kind of addition for this kind of monetary commitment again.

He said the district’s portion was a “much more reasonable amount, and we would gain so much in return.”

Additional programming

According to the current Region 14 agreement with Mascenic and ConVal, the home school offering a program is guaranteed 50% of the seats in the class, with 25% each going to the partner schools. If a student who expresses interest in a class, but no seats are available, he or she is placed on a waiting list to be in line for the next available session.

The addition of new programming would include two new instructors – one for culinary arts and one for public safety. The district already has instructors for construction trades.

While construction trades is currently the only CTE program housed at Conant, students in the district do also have access to offerings at Mascenic and ConVal. Mascenic houses an automotive program, while ConVal hosts manufacturing, business, computer programming, graphic design, photography/video and careers in education.

That’s a total of eight potential CTE offerings, but Conant Principal David Dustin and Director of Counseling Kim Baker said the demand is high. In a 2023 survey of 137 students, 21.4% indicated they were interested in classes in construction trades, 41.4% in public safety and security and 60.6% in culinary arts.

Dustin said that there are culinary arts programs in Keene or Milford, but there are never open seats available for students outside of the district.

“It’s incredibly popular and well-rounded,” Dustin said.

Baker said the same is true of EMT training programs, as what programs are available are usually filled.

Construction trades would have three classes per semester, for a total of 54 seats. Culinary arts would have three year-long sessions, and a Culinary I and Culinary II program, with a total of 54 seats per year. The EMT course would have 12 seats per year for a year-long course.

The Security and Public Safety course would have four classes per semester, for a total of 192 seats over the course of the year.

Earlier in the process, the district had also planned offerings of cosmetology and fire science. Duncan said the district eliminated cosmetology in an effort to bring down the potential cost of the addition, and eliminated fire science based on feedback from the state.

What it would look like

The addition would be in an L-shape, and built in front of the existing high school entrance. The space left by the L, bracketed by the existing building, would become a courtyard, and the addition would include a new entrance with administrative offices.

The public safety program would include classes on law, law enforcement, forensics and emergency medical technician training. The area would include a laboratory preparation room, a lab and two classroom spaces which can each fit about 45 students and a demonstration area.

Construction trades, as it does now, would include instruction on construction, woodworking, electricity and plumbing. The area for construction trades would include a 3,030-square-foot lab space, a classroom, a storage area and a covered outdoor yard.

The culinary arts section would include a kitchen with multiple student stations, a demonstration kitchen that includes student seating, an incubator space for small groups and a dining/classroom space.

Tax impacts

During the presentation, Duncan presented examples of what the tax impact of the addition would be, based on various potential bond lengths and current interest rates. The examples used a $7 million bond, although he said the ultimate bond could be as low as $6.5 million, and he was presenting $7 million as a worst-case scenario.

For a five-year bond, the interest would be $743,750 over the life of the bond. A house with a $350,000 value would generate approximately $2,125 in additional taxes over the five years the bond was being paid off.

With a 10-year bond, the district would pay a total of $1.29 million in interest, and the same $350,000 home would generate $2,300 in extra taxes over the 10-year payback.

A 15-year bond would have just over $2 million in interest and would result in $2,500 in additional taxes for a home valued at $350,000 over the 15 years of the bond.

The numbers provided are estimates and may differ based on the funding formula. Duncan said the district will have more-specific examples as Jaffrey sets its tax rate and the March vote approaches.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.