(Host) The towns of Norwich, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire, make up the Dresden School District, one of only two interstate school districts in the country.
The District’s middle school and high school are in downtown Hanover near Dartmouth College, but the schools need extensive repairs.
Dartmouth has offered to buy the land the schools are currently on.
That would bring in enough money to enable the school district to build two brand new schools on land farther away from the town center.
The school board likes that idea and Dartmouth College is willing to contribute to the project.
But a recount of last week’s vote on the proposal resulted in approval by the slimmest of margins — just 13 votes out of 3,700 cast.
Thursday night the Dresden school board met for the first time since the vote.
Kenneth Greenbaum is Superintendent of Schools.
(Greenbaum) The board discussed this matter among themselves and suggested ideas for how a building committee or committees could be structured to address these issues. The board also took input from members of the public who were present at the meeting. These discussions culminated in the board forming a subcommittee to meet and bring back a recommendation to the board for its regular meeting on March 26th.
(Host) The committee will have a lot to consider.
Hanover residents are concerned about losing more of their downtown to Dartmouth College and taxpayers in both communities are concerned about rising education costs.
The voting results allow the school board to prepare for a bond vote later this year, but they have anything but a clear mandate.