By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

Ground may be broken for Goffstown’s new kindergarten by late summer or early fall, but first the school board must take care of the details.

School board member Scott Gross said the next step toward building a new school will be working out the details for the land transfer of property located on Elm Street across from the Glen Lake beach. The transfer of the property from the town to the school district was OK’d at the March 8 election.

“I don’t think we’ll be breaking ground for months,” he said. “There is a lot of engineering and design work to do.”

Gross said the school board will next go before the town’s planning board for a subdivision process and also work with architects and civil engineers to work out the school’s design plans. The board will also consult the conservation committee and secure state wetland permits, a process that Gross estimates will take three to four months.

A kindergarten building committee has already been formed, made up of several school board members, private citizens, architects for the kindergarten and the school’s construction manager.

Gross said input from the public will be welcomed when the committee meets.

“The meetings will be open to the public,” he said. “It’s just like any other public project. There will always be an opportunity for people to provide comments.”

The kindergarten’s proposed site is a 58-acre parcel that was purchased in 1974 by the town and has been left underdeveloped.

Gross estimates the board will face few problems in terms of residents who do not support the site for the school, citing the large turnout to support Article 5 at last week’s election. Residents voted 1803-581 to authorize the district to accept gifts of property that could secure new land for the kindergarten.

“I honestly don’t think there will be (a problem),” he said. “The town voted overwhelmingly for the land transfer. I’m sure some people have concerns, but this is going to be a public process. They will have opportunities to present their comments to the planning board and the conservation committee.”

Several residents have already expressed concern about the proposed site.

Collis Adams addressed the town’s board of selectmen at their regular meeting on Monday, March 14. He said he was speaking on behalf of a group of concerned Goffstown residents so their concerns could be put on the record.

Selectman Robert Wheeler said the transfer was now a school board issue.

“The election is over,” he said. “You’ve come all the way through the process saying the board of selectmen has not done anything, but we are not the group that makes these decisions. It is not the effort of the board of selectmen to go forward with the school. That is the initiative of the school board.”

Adams declined to comment further.

The $3.3 million school is proposed to open by September 2006.