Town and school present plan to build district office addition at Town Hall to avoid renewing lease

Superintendent Dan Black and town officials presented a plan Oct. 21 for the Londonderry School District to relocate its central office back to the center of town by building a 5,300-square-foot addition attached to Town Hall.

The project would be funded through a combination of Town and School reserve funds rather than new borrowing. Justin Campa of the working group said the town will propose a warrant article to use $2,500,000 of undesignated town fund balance and that the district would enter a lease to pay up to $250,000 over 10 years, a structure Campa said would result in “no impact on the tax rate.” Amity Spall, the district business manager, said the school’s share would come from its unassigned fund balance.

Why it matters: District office staff have worked in a leased space outside the center of town since 2016 after ventilation problems at the old office. Officials said returning the offices to Town Hall will save on long-term lease payments, reduce interest costs compared with a bond and restore clerical and administrative presence downtown.

Key details and financial comparisons

- Size and layout: Present plans call for a roughly 5,300-square-foot addition that would attach to Town Hall by a new connecting door and add parking. The office would accommodate about 21 district employees and rely on shared town conference and break-room space.

- Funding proposal: The town would use $2.5 million of undesignated fund balance and the district would contribute from its unassigned fund balance. Under the presented lease arrangement the district would pay up to $250,000 over 10 years back to the town; after year 10 the lease rate would drop to a nominal amount. Justin Campa and Amity Spall described this combination as avoiding a tax-rate impact tied to new borrowing.

- Cost and interest comparison: Presenters estimated a full bond-funded approach would cost roughly $3.9 million and carry about $1.9 million in interest over 20 years (about $714,000 if structured as a 10-year bond), figures used to illustrate savings from the proposed fund-balance approach.

- Savings from collaboration: Officials said collaborating with the town enabled a smaller footprint and shared rooms that reduced space needs by about 900 square feet compared with an earlier design and saved roughly half a million dollars in estimated construction cost.

Site, parking and timeline

Officials identified an area adjacent to Town Hall where an additional 30–40 overflow parking spaces could be added to serve Town Hall, the library, the police station and the district offices. Town staff said the parcel currently holds about 187 spaces compared with an applied matrix target of 235, so the overflow lot would help meet weekday and after-hours demand.

Presenters said they expect 50% cost estimates by Nov. 20 and plan to return to the town council and budget committee with a formal warrant article in the budget season. If voters approve the warrant article, the group would select a construction manager and seek a guaranteed maximum price, officials said.

Questions and public input

Board and council members asked clarifying questions on design, parking and roofing materials. In public comment, resident John Wilson asked whether the addition would be attached to Town Hall and whether the design could support a future second story; town officials said the plan is an addition connected to Town Hall and that existing Town Hall office area provides capacity for future staffing without a second floor.

Next steps

The working group will pursue the 50% cost estimates and continue design and legal work, and will present the warrant article and cost estimates to the town council and budget committee during the coming budget season.

Speakers quoted in this report spoke during the joint school board/town council presentation and Q&A on Oct. 21, 2025.