Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
Published: 2/28/2022 11:45:39 AM
Jaffrey residents heard from candidates for the Jaffrey-Rindge School Board during Candidates’ Night on Thursday.
Justen Nagle and Daisy Hawlk, who was not present at the candidates’ night, are running for the Jaffrey seat. Nagle has five children in the district, in either Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School or Conant High School. He said he sees a disconnect between the expense per student and the district’s ranking when compared to other New Hampshire schools.
Nagle noted there are expensive projects upcoming for the district, such as the replacement of the heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and said he would like to delve deeper into how much the district needs to invest in coming years.
Nagle also had concerns about staffing overturn.
“We’re losing a lot of educators and not replacing them quickly,” Nagle said.
When asked about parents’ role in their child’s education and curriculum, Nagle said they should have “a very big role.” He encouraged more parents to be involved and attend School Board meetings where curriculum was being discussed.
“In a public school, the parents should have a say, as long as they’re educating themselves,” Nagle said.
In a separate race for the at-large seat representing both towns, Kim Aucoin is facing Alicia Stenersen, who is a member of the board, but in a seat representing only Rindge.
Aucoin said her family moved to Rindge 30 years ago because her parents were seeking a better school district. Aucoin has a teaching degree and has taught within the Jaffrey-Rindge district, though she is not currently employed there.
“I’ve been on the inside,” Aucoin said. “This is a big learning curve for me, but I’m excited to learn about it.”
Aucoin said her role would be to be a voice for her constituents.
“My opinions are just a small piece. A lot of us are wanting some change,” Aucoin said.
Stenersen has served as the Rindge representative on the board for the last three years, and also has a background in child and adolescent developmental psychology. She said when she first ran for the position, she had no idea she would be part of steering the district through the pandemic. She agreed with Aucoin that she wanted to represent the people of both towns and their views.
“I’ve sought to represent the voice of the community I was elected by,” Stenersen said.
For municipal offices, there are no contested races, and all the candidates are current incumbents, including Franklin Sterling, the current Select Board chair.
“I’m running again because we have several projects in the works I would like to see to conclusion,” Sterling said. The biggest project, he noted, was the upcoming improvements by the state Department of Transportation on the downtown traffic, which will include installing two new roundabouts and a bridge over the Contoocook River.
Sterling said the town is also preparing to start this summer on construction of a new water treatment facility at Cold Stone Springs, a new water source the town is preparing to acquire in partnership with Peterborough. The town is also exploring the option of a solar project to power the town’s water plant and an ongoing effort to improve the town’s paved roads.
Also this summer, Sterling said there will be an ongoing effort to remove hazardous materials left from a fire that destroyed a portion of the former W.W. Cross factory. Sterling said the town is exploring options for redeveloping that property, a step that will likely only happen after the remainder of the building is demolished.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.
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