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Parents and PTO leaders urge Nashua board to preserve New Searls Elementary amid facility review
Summary
Multiple parents and PTO representatives told the board March 2 that closing New Searls Elementary would fragment a close-knit community; they asked the district to publish elementary enrollment trends and questioned aspects of the Harriman facility study.
At the March 2 Nashua School District Board of Education meeting, a string of parents and PTO leaders urged the board to keep New Searls Elementary open and to consider community impacts before advancing facility-closure options.
Community speakers described New Searls as a strong neighborhood school and highlighted volunteer investment and fundraising. "Our PTO alone, with the help of the NASH, has raised a quarter of $1,000,000 in 3 years," one speaker said, citing roughly $250,000 of recent PTO investments in playgrounds, smart boards and library renovations.
Multiple commenters criticized the facility-planning report (the Harriman study) and asked whether the study’s authors could later bid on renovation work, calling that a potential conflict of interest. "If the organization that made the report can bid on future buildings or renovations, I question the conflict of interest," a resident said during public comment.
Residents also asked the district to publish elementary-only enrollment numbers over a 10-year span so the public can see trends beyond pandemic-era declines; one parent said pandemic-era births and family moves complicate projections and urged the board not to rely solely on those figures.
Board members thanked speakers and said the topic will be part of ongoing budget and facilities discussions. The board and administration noted that facility options are under review and that the board will vote on related enrollment and facility items in upcoming meetings.
The meeting’s public-comment record shows broad local opposition to any option that would close neighborhood schools and scatter students across multiple buildings; speakers warned of longer bus routes, fragmented friendships and loss of community cohesion if New Searls were closed.
