The Laconia Daily Sun, January 25, 2011

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E E R F Tuesday, January 25, 2011

tuesday

Push for constitutional amendment to target state school aid sparks debate as Laconia City Council meets with local lawmakers

FairPoint out of bankruptcy

Phone company’s crushing debt reduced from $2.8 to $1-billion — Page 13

VOL. 11 nO. 168

LaCOnIa, n.H.

527-9299

Free

LHS making case for keeping ‘best & brightest’ home By AdAm drApcho THE LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — For parents of highlyachieving eighth graders who are deciding which private high school would put their child in the best position for acceptance into a prestigious college or university, Mike Persson has some advice. He and his wife Clare recently went through the same decision process and concluded that the institution that can meet their daughter’s needs was Laconia High School.

After that realization, the Perssons suggested that the district could be more forward in inserting itself into discussion of options for ambitious young students. The result of that suggestion is a meeting for parents of eighth graders that will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at the high school. The meeting is titled “First Choice” and will include presentations by Principal Steven Beals and Academic Coordinator Lauren Streifer, who will explain the academic programs their students would

have access to if they chose the public high school route. The meeting will also feature a group of Laconia High School students, whom administrators hope will illustrate the caliber of students found in the school’s most rigorous classes. “The six kids on that list have had a huge impact on our school’s culture,” Streifer said, noting that the students’ achievements have been more than just academics. “We want as many of those kids as we can get.” see LHs page 10

Gilford Middle School staging ‘Guys & Dolls’

By michAel Kitch THE LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Meeting with state lawmakers last night, city councilors and School Board members acknowledged the fiscal challenges confronting the Legislature, but warned their representatives against reducing payments and shifting costs to local property taxpayers. Senator Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford), along with Representatives Frank Tilton, Don Flanders, Bob Luther, Harry Accornero — all Republicans from Laconia — and Alida Millham (R-Gilford) accepted the councilors’ invitation to hear their concerns about the impact of initiatives underway in the Statehouse on City Hall. Republican Bob Kingsbury, the fifth member of the city’s legislative delegation, did not attend, but offered his perspective in e-mails to City see COuNCIL page 12

Gilford Middle School eighth graders were busy Monday rehearsing on the high school stage for this weekend’s performances of “Guys & Dolls. Show here running through a scene are De Clarke (Sky Masterson), Noelle Benavides (Sister Sarah Brown), Caitlyn Houston (Miss Adelaide) and Nathan Detroit and Nick Prescott (Nathan Detroit). There will be four presentations of the musical, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. And there’s an interesting twist: there are two completely different casts. The eighth graders will perform on Thursday and Saturday evenings and a cast of seventh graders will do the same on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)

Who pays for police officer at Belmont High is again an issue By GAil oBer

THE LACONIA DAILY SUN

BELMONT — The Shaker Regional School Board told selectmen last that it wants to continue with a part-time school resource (police) officer at the high school but no longer wishes to pay for his services.

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The school board has recommended reducing its budget by $22,000 — the amount Belmont selectmen said is generally attributed to Canterbury’s portion of the SRO salary. Police Chief Vincent Baiocchetti told selectmen there are two members of his

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department assigned as school resource officers — one full-time officer stationed at Belmont Elementary and Middle School and one part-time officer at Belmont High School who is also the police department’s juvenile prosecutor. see sRO page 9


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