Facilities

The MPR is the town's largest meeting space, big enough for 350 people with tables, and 500 people without tables. It is a full-size basketball court, with a stage and adjoining "kitchen." The MPR is used as a gymnasium, as the school cafeteria, and is also used for town meetings, elections, and many other events from rollerskating parties to adult volleyball to science exhibits. Cub Scouts use the room for meetings, sleep-ins, and the Pinewood Derby.

The "kitchen" is used to warm lunches cooked elsewhere and delivered to the school. Currently students use disposable plates and utensils. If the school had its own oven and a sterilizing dishwasher, it would cut the waste going into the trash stream every day. An oven, dishwasher, and generator would also make the school a viable emergency shelter.

The school library fills an important community need for meeting space, being the only wheelchair-accessible meeting room in town, aside from the MPR. The library has a capacity for 30 people. In 2000 it was used for summer music lessons organized by the PTA. One of the wonderful features about the school is the scenic view of rolling mountains from the library windows. The view should be maintained.

The front yard playscape and a bird garden courtyard are used for recreation and nature study. The playscape serves as a town park when school is not in session.

1-acre McCollom Field, Lot 10-34, across the street serves as an elementary school ball field. It was originally landscaped by a volunteer crew. The lawn is maintained by the town public works department. It is not quite as large as a standard ball field, but is sought after by the younger athletic groups, including ball clubs from the Amherst Recreation Department. It is not lighted. The lot is a bit damp and slopes slightly, but that has not been a problem. The field is managed from the Village School offices.

Access. Because of the school's central location, the students are close enough to many town landmarks to go on walking field trips (the fire station, post office, library, and soldier's monument, to name a few). Therefore it is all the more important that there be safe walkways for the students. The Town should consider providing pathways from the end of Kittredge to Rangeway Road, and from Cemetery Road to Pinkham Avenue. Currently the school district provides bus service to students anywhere in town, even close by, because Route 13 is a very busy road.

The school's total capacity, taking into consideration the year 2000 addition and leach field expansion, is 360 students. The classrooms were designed to hold 30 students each. The kindergarten classroom can hold 30 students.

The community uses the Village School for many educational and non-educational purposes, and its potential is even greater. The Fire Department uses the building for training classes. The small 8-person conference room and classrooms are used for various town meetings. Other ways the town could utilize the space might be as a senior center, health clinic, or for adult education. Since the school could serve as the town's disaster shelter in an emergency, it should have a generator.

The town is currently carrying two school-related bonds. The $1,681,500 building addition bond will be paid off in 2009. The $872,662 1999/2000 kindergarten/classroom addition bond will be paid off in 2011.

The elected five-member Mont Vernon School Board oversees the staffing and day-to-day operations of the school. The Board keeps a notebook of its educational goals for the school.

Amherst Middle School was built in 1969 to serve 850 5th-8th graders from Amherst. It totals 85,000 square feet, 25,200 of which is for general classrooms. It contains 36 regular classrooms and 12 modular classrooms. Mont Vernon's 7-8th graders are tuitioned to the middle school. It has a cafeteria, gym, music room, band room, and shop classroom. Athletic facilities include two diamonds and two rectangular fields, and showers. In 2000, Mont Vernon students represented 8% (70 of 920) of the middle school population, and tuition rate per pupil was $6,308.

SHS was built in 1992 to serve Amherst and Mont Vernon students in grades 9-12. It totals 128,000 square feet, approximately 36,000 of which is for 45 general classrooms. Mont Vernon has a cooperative arrangement with Amherst, and is represented by 2 of the 7 seats on the Souhegan School District School Board. The school has an auditorium/theatre, gymnasium with a basketball court, two diamonds, 3 rectangular fields, showers, a track, cafeteria, fitness trail, weight room, language lab, art room, band room, and science labs. There are no designated home economics or shop classrooms. Six modular trailers make up for the current lack of classroom space. 14% (122 of 876) of students were from Mont Vernon in 2000. The $12,146,508 bond will be paid of in April of 2012. The NH Department of Education determined that the cost per pupil for the 1998-99 school year was $7,800. Cost per pupil has gone down due to higher student population, and SAU 39 estimates the cost per pupil to be $7,500 for the year 2000.

77% of Mont Vernon residents' taxes are used in support of schools. This total includes the state education tax, which is part of the local tax burden. 70-80% is a common tax portion toward schools.

Approximately 2.5% of Mont Vernon's elementary students are home schooled in the year 2000, although parents are not required to inform the local school district if they home-school, so this number may not be accurate. The school administration provides home schoolers with text books and support if desired, and access to group functions such as physical education and art classes.

The district receives compensation from the state toward service of home schoolers as well as publicly enrolled students.

Comparison of Enrollment and Building Capacity

Source: MVVS, SAU 39

The middle and high schools are currently making up for the lack of classroom space through the use of leased modular classrooms.

Because Mont Vernon is such a small town, it is extremely difficult to predict enrollment. The following table shows the wide fluctuations of past years.

Enrollment History, 1990-1999

Source: SAU 39

Mont Vernon Birth Rate

Source: SAU 39

The following tables supplied by the Souhegan Administrative Unit #39 would indicate that enrollment in the Mont Vernon Village School will actually decrease in the next eight years; however, this data is extremely difficult to predict, and the Town should keep abreast of enrollment rates. The development pressure in Mont Vernon is growing, and the town is attractive to young families.

If, contrary to the following tables, enrollment increases at 1.7% every year according to the NH Office of State Planning population projections, the Mont Vernon Village School would reach its capacity of 360 in about 25 years.

There are no projections for kindergarten classes at this time, but in 2000 Mont Vernon had 20 students in kindergarten.

Mont Vernon Enrollment Projections, 2000-2010

Seven Year Progression Ratio

Source: SAU 39

Mont Vernon Enrollment Projections, 2000-2010

Five Year Progression Ratio

Source: SAU 39

Mont Vernon Enrollment Projections, 2000-2010

Three Year Progression Ratio

Source: SAU 39

Mont Vernon Enrollment Projections, 2000-2010

Straight Line Method

Source: SAU 39

Space Standards

NH standard is maximum 25 students per class in grade 1 and 2 and 30 students per class in grades 3 and up. Minimum classroom size in NH is 900 square feet, including the storage space directly attributed to that particular classroom.

The town should consider these characteristics for any future school:

• accessible from at least two roads, wide enough to accommodate buses
• pedestrian/bike access
• sufficient surrounding space for athletic fields, and to serve as safe ground for evacuations
• subdued exterior lighting
• access to nature trails would be preferable, but not critical
• sufficient water supply and septic disposal capacity

Summary of Action Items