STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

WARRANT FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING

FALL MOUNTAIN REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

            To the inhabitants of the Fall Mountain Regional School District in the towns of ACWORTH, ALSTEAD, CHARLESTOWN, LANGDON and WALPOLE qualified to vote in District affairs:

            You are hereby notified to meet at the Fall Mountain Regional High School auditorium in the Town of Langdon, New Hampshire, on the 7th day of February 2008, at 6:30 PM to act upon the following subjects:

1.          Shall the school district raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $25,412,310? Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $25,023,395, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the district or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Funds the operating budget for the 2008-2009 school year, but does not include appropriations for any other article.

2.         To see if the district will vote to form a study committee appointed by the school board for the purpose of proposing a high school building renovation plan to appear on the 2009 warrant. The primary focus of the study will be the vocational education wing, gym locker rooms, science labs and bathrooms but may extend to any other portions of the facility. Furthermore, to raise and appropriate $25,000 to provide the committee with the technical support they may require developing the plan. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Forms a committee and provides some technical resources to develop a high school building renovation plan .To qualify for 55% state building aid, the plan must be valued at least 25% of the building’s replacement cost. As such, the proposal is expected to be at least $3,500,000.

NOTE – Votes on articles 3 through 7 will be tallied on a town specific basis per the district’s Articles of Agreement. As such, the school board respectfully suggests that you vote only on the article specific to your town.

3.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $26,000 to be added to the Alstead Elementary Schools Capital Reserve Fund established in 2006. These funds will be held by the Alstead Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds money to the fund for future capital needs in Alstead.

4.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $3,000 to be added to the Acworth Elementary School Capital Reserve Fund established in 2006. These funds will be held by the Acworth Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds money to the fund for future capital needs in Acworth.

5.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $1,000 to be added to the Langdon Elementary School Capital Reserve Fund established in 2006. These funds will be held by the Langdon Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds money to the fund for future capital needs in Langdon.

6.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $44,000 to be added to the Charlestown Elementary Schools Capital Reserve Fund established in 2006. These funds will be held by the Charlestown Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds money to the fund for future capital needs in Charlestown.

7.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $30,000 to be added to the Walpole Elementary Schools Capital Reserve Fund established in 2006. These funds will be held by the Walpole Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds money to the fund for future capital needs in Walpole.

8.         To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate $30,000 to purchase fifteen “Smart Boards” for installation at the High School and authorize the school board to withdraw these funds from the High School Capital Reserve Fund. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

A "Smart Board" is an interactive whiteboard onto which a computer's display is projected. Students control the computer using a pen, their finger or other pointing device.  Interactive whiteboards address multiple learning styles and diverse abilities. They aid student achievement by offering engaging opportunities for students to learn and to apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful ways. They also increase student attention, participation, and test scores. This article will not require any additional taxation, as funding will come from the HS Capital Reserve.

9.            To see if the district will vote to raise and appropriate, solely from any year-end unreserved general fund balance, up to $500,000 to be placed in the High School Capital Reserve Fund. These funds are held by Charlestown Trustees of Trust Funds and no withdrawals shall be made without consent of the voters. The School Board recommends this article. The Budget Committee recommends this article.

Adds additional money to the fund for future capital needs, but only from general fund surplus.

10.          To see if the District will vote to amend Article 2 of its Articles of Agreement, as previously amended, to read in its entirety as follows:

“The Fall Mountain Regional School District School Board shall consist of thirteen (13) members, subject to effective dates as hereinafter provided and without affecting the incumbency of exiting Board members including those elected at the 2008 Annual Meeting. The thirteen-member board shall consist of

            Two (2) members domiciled in Alstead

            Five (5) members domiciled in Charlestown

            One (1) member domiciled in Langdon

            Four (4) members domiciled in Walpole

Each School Board member shall be elected by the voters of the town of his or her domicile, voting by ballot at the respective annual town meetings.

All members of the School Board shall be elected for three year terms.

The provisions hereof shall become effective with the March 2009 election in accordance with the following:

1 Alstead member (Robert Pearson - term expires in 2010)

1 Alstead member (term will expire in 2012)

1 Acworth member (Jim Elsesser - term expires 2010)

1 Langdon member (elected in March 2008 - term will expire in 2011)

1 Charlestown member (term will expire in 2010)

1 Charlestown member (elected in March 2008 - term will expire 2011)

1 Charlestown member (term will expire in 2011)

2 Charlestown members (terms will expire in 2012)

1 Walpole member (Chas Street - term will expire in 2010)*

1 Walpole member (term will expire in 2011)

2 Walpole members (terms will expire in 2012)

* Chas Street was elected as an "at large" representative in 2007. He is domiciled in Walpole and will serve the final year of his three year term as a Walpole representative.

(By petition) 2/3 vote required. The School Board does not recommend this article.

11.        As of the opening of the School Year 2009 the Cooperative School Board shall cease to have responsibility for grades K thru 8 for the town of Acworth and will amend the apportionment formula. (By petition)

In the opinion of our school district attorney, this article is unenforceable under New Hampshire state statute.

12.        Shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 40:14-b to delegate the determination of the default budget to the municipal budget committee which has been adopted under RSA 32:14? (By petition) The School Board does not recommend this article.

Given under our hands at said Charlestown, New Hampshire this 8th day of January, 2008.

FALL MOUNTAIN REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD