SAU#75 Superintendent Newsletter

Dear Grantham School Community,

The autumn season seems to have arrived and zipped by in the blink of an eye! It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming students back, and now we are celebrating the end of October. Today is a special one, as we mark the conclusion of the month with our annual student mask parade. The parade is extra special as our students show off their one-of-a kind masks created in art classes. Shout out to Mrs. Kirsha Frye-Matte for inspiring such wonderful creativity! Beyond the festive fun, our first two months have been filled with a variety of learning activities across all classrooms and grade levels. Relationships are being built between families, students, and staff. Our school community is embracing the school year with commitment, compassion, and collaboration. We are looking forward to a productive and engaging rest of the school year! As always, please do not hesitate to reach out by calling, emailing, or stopping by the SAU offices.

Sincerely,

Christine Downing

I received the information below from Commissioner Davis of NH Department of Education.

Grantham Village School is listed as #8 in the list for best public schools in New Hampshire. Congratulations to our dedicated school board, administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and school community for your efforts and support. It truly takes A Village! (The full article is provided below.)

A preliminary injunction was granted by US District Court for NH on October 2, 2025. Originally, the State of NH indicated they were going to file a motion for reconsideration. The date for this action was October 27th. However, the State did not file by this date and now has until November 3rd to file an appeal against the preliminary injunction.

Link to Court Order

Please reach out with any questions. I can be reached at cdowning@gvshawks.org. I will continue to provide updates through Superintendent newsletters.

On October 14, 2025, the Grantham School District implemented two new bus routes. This change was necessary based on a reduction in available drivers. Mrs. Brenda Molloy and I both rode G5 and G7 bus routes after the change took place. Overall, capacity was balanced between the two routes, timing of stops was within 3 to 5 minutes of the published schedule, and safety adjustments were made for some stops. We will continue to monitor the routes.

Our new special services van is arriving on Monday, November 3rd. Picture are included. New buses are arriving in the next two weeks as part of the new contract with First Student. This is a good time to remind all students and families of our bus rules, which can be found here. Damage to bus seats is $100 per seat.

We have early dismissal at GVS coming up on November 5th and 6th. Dismissal has been adjusted by 15 minutes from previous years. Early dismissal will now occur at 1:00pm.

We are always seeking substitutes in terms of supporting classrooms when our teaching staff are absent. However, we are currently looking for long-term substitutes for our nurse, a 1st grade teacher, and a 3rd grade teacher. In addition, we are seeking special substitutes in the areas of custodial services and van driver. We are looking for people who are willing to back up these positions when our current employees are on leave or absent. Typically, these positions pay a per diem rate. If you are interested in substituting in one of these areas, please reach out to Brenda Molloy at bmolloy@sau75.org. You can also find more information at this address: https://www.gvshawks.org/apps/jobs/

Through the generosity of the Burkehaven Foundation, Hypertherm HOPE Foundation, and a private donor, we have been able to raise $106,000 for the renovation of the early learning playground area at the north end of the school. In addition, the Grantham School Board allocated $30,000 from the fiscal year 2025 fund balance for this project. This area will provide accessibility to our younger learners, including any children with mobility challenges. Installation of the new equipment will begin on November 10th and is expected to take only 1 to 2 weeks to complete. We will use temporary rubber mats throughout the winter months to provide accessibility. In the spring, a rubberized surface and new fence will be installed to complete the project. We are so grateful to these generous partners and will have an official opening for the playground in the spring.

Thanks to a NH Department of Education Robotics Grant, we are kicking off our Drone Club for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6, with a parent/student event on Monday, November 10th, from 5pm to 6pm in the GVS Gym. I attended a Drone Scrimmage at Kearsarge Middle School on Saturday October 18th to learn first hand how we can establish a similar club with our grant funding. I am working with Laurie Prewandowski, who is a digital learning specialist for KRMS. We have planned an informational meeting for GVS Families and Students on November 10th from 5pm to 6pm. We will have drones and a mini-competition course set up for demonstrations in the Gym. Laurie will bring some of her middle school students. I am still looking for parent volunteers to assist. If interested, please contact Christine Downing at cdowning@sau75.org.

I am asking interested parents/students to complete a registration form for the event, so we have a sense of numbers to prep necessary equipment and resources. Link is provided below.

I am excited to learn side by side with the students as we explore this world of drone learning and competitions!

At its December 2nd meeting, the Grantham School Board will be reviewing the first draft of the school budget. Our Business Administrator, Meredith Butler, and members of the administrative team have been conducting meetings to develop budgets for the various departments. It is our goal to bring forth a fiscally responsible budget. We did receive a bit of good news recently as we saw a decrease in the amount of percent increases to our health insurance coverage. For fiscal year 2024, our health rates increased by 20%. In fiscal year 2025, we had an increase of 15.8%. For fiscal year 2026, our increase is estimated to be 7.7%.

Here is a link to important dates regarding the school district budget process.

Conval Lawsuit - Grantham School District was involved in this lawsuit. We have been alerted that we will be receiving reimbursement for attorney fees related to this case. The amount has not been disclosed at this time.

From NH School Administrators Association - There are over 200 LSRs that are currently being tracked with connections to school operations and systems. LSRs only require a very brief title/subject to start as a bill. We do not have bill language at this time. From the 2025 session, here are the Bills Signed into Law by Governor Ayotte (updated as of 8.5.2025).