Washington

Carnivals and Candy Land weaved a colorful backdrop to a decidedly festive Hillsboro-Deering High School graduation ceremony Friday evening, as the largest class in the school’s history was persuaded to continue blending a passionate drive with playful enthusiasm.

That the graduates were the victors during a trio of separate Winter Carnivals was mentioned no fewer than three times, and keynote speaker and retiring school nurse Candice Garvin made note of the ongoing game of Candy Land the graduates continue to play in their lives, with a nod toward embracing their H-D colors and pedigree.

“We’ve taken our turns and used the slides up and used the slides down. We’ve gotten stuck and now we’re unstuck,” Garvin said. “It’s not a simple game, but it’s on to the next version of Candy Land for us all. We’ve landed on that last space, and it’s red, white and gray in our version.”

Superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker informed the crowd at the Hillsboro-Deering Senior Awards Ceremony last Thursday night that this will be the school’s largest graduating class ever. A total of 127 students will receive their diplomas; 99 were recognized at the Senior Awards.

Dr. Baker said she checked through records as far back as she could, which brought her through paper files dating from 1959, when only 44 students graduated from the high school.

The tables were more crowded than ever, as 96 awards were given out, 43 of them for scholarly work. Dr. Baker pointed out that 38 seniors had earned college credit during their high school career, and that 19 had taken Advanced Placement classes. Twenty-seven seniors will graduate as New Hampshire Scholars.

“These data are significant,” said Dr. Baker. “We know what you students are capable of. As you leave us remember the importance of hard work and patience.”

The Hillsboro-Deering school board decided on Monday to join the federal Race to the Top competition, a program that sets states competing with each other for funds to improve their lowest achieving schools.

According to a Department of Education representative, who spoke at the meeting, Hillsboro-Deering high school is now slated as one of the state’s five Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools. This status gives the district the option to join in the reforms that would be mandated to improve the school, if New Hampshire is one of the states awarded Race to the Top funding.

Although the school district just exited District In Need of Improvement status this year, the high school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in its New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test scores in Reading for the third year, and is a School In Need of Improvement (SINI) in Reading. In Math, the high school did not make AYP this year, but is not yet a SINI in Math. It will be next year if it doesn’t make AYP in Math again.

The Hillsboro-Deering school district is no longer a District In Need of Improvement (DINI). As of April 7, the district was notified that because it had made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years it has exited that status.

The No Child Left Behind Act demands that schools make AYP, or be slated as Schools In Need of Improvement, or SINI status, or DINI status if more than one school in a district doesn’t make AYP. Eventually, if a school does not rebound, it may lose funding by the state and federal government.

No Child Left Behind aims to have students in all schools across the country 100 percent proficient in Reading and Math, by 2014, a goal that has been often criticized for being overly optimistic and untenable.

“We were only one of two districts in the state to make it off the list,” superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker pointed out to the school board at Monday’s meeting.

The Milan school district, north of Berlin, also exited DINI status this year. There are 67 other districts in the state still in DINI status.

Hillsboro-Deering school district superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker nominated Dixie Bacallao Tremblay as her pick for high school principal. The school board will formally address confirming her at their next meeting. However, it is obvious the board is in full agreement.

“It’s a matter of formality,” said Dr. Baker on Tuesday. “We discussed it last night and we are all on the same page.”

The school board wrapped up the last of its interviews with finalists for the position on Monday night. Dr. Baker and incoming superintendent Dr. Alan Genovese made their decision shortly after and informed the board in a non-public session. Dr. Baker then offered the job to Tremblay on Tuesday, and she accepted.

“I’m thrilled to be going to Hillsboro-Deering,” said Tremblay. “I found the students to be open, honest and delightful. The staff seemed to be very open to new experiences and seemed to have the students’ best interest at heart. The board seems very committed to the students of the high school. And I found both the outgoing and incoming superintendents to be open and friendly, and very focused on students.”

Hillsboro-Deering school board members Marjorie Porter and Terry Cutter informed the public and other members on Monday that they are interviewing candidates for the high school principal position. Interim principal Donna Stafford declined to apply for the position, making way for an entirely new principal to take the reins of the school.

Porter and Cutter were assigned to the principal search committee. They informed the board that they will be interviewing candidates this week, and that both current Superintendent Dr. Barbara Baker and incoming superintendent Dr. Alan Genovese will be interviewing them next week. Finalists will then appear before the school board.

“We will be conducting site visits on four candidates,” said Cutter. “We would also like to schedule a site visit here.”

Porter explained that the home site visit might be more than one, with each of the candidates having a chance to visit the school.

“What we found is that nationwide most districts started their searches in January and have already made offers,” said Cutter. “So we are already behind the 8-ball.”

The Hillsboro-Deering school board and the board of selectmen will have a slightly different cast of characters this year.

Terry Cutter took John Segedy’s at-large seat on the school board handily, 514 to 246 in Hillsborough, and 245 to 91 in Deering. Virginia “Ginks” Leiby ran unopposed to represent Deering. Russell Galpin also ran unopposed for school district moderator.

Rob Buker, who ran to keep his seat on the board of selectmen for a three-year seat, won with 360 votes, with David Fullerton trailing with 182 votes and Bob Hutchinson with 176. Bob Fredette, who pulled out of the race after his name was placed on the ballot, got 17 votes.

Russell Galpin was the only name on the ballot for the one-year seat on the board of selectmen, but two other candidates ran as competitive write-ins. Galpin won with 575, with Paris Wells getting 71 votes and Alan Urquhart getting 53 votes.

Elisabeth Olson kept her seat on the planning board with 465 votes, as well as Gary Sparks with 425 votes. With only two three-year seats open, John Kergil lost with only 154 votes.

Richard Baldwin unseated Art Kaufman for the position of trustee of the trust funds, 476 to 178.

Alan Drew Genovese Ph.D., or as Washington Elementary School students have been calling him, Dr. G, was picked last week as the new Hillsboro-Deering school district superintendent. He will begin July 1.

A search implemented by the SAU board, which began early last year, culminated in the choice last Wednesday night. The SAU board includes members of all school boards in the district – Hillsboro-Deering, Washington and Windsor.

An elementary school teacher for 20 years, and an admistrator for 17, Genovese has spent 37 years as an educator in Massachusetts, and has deep ties to New Hampshire. Born in Gardner, Massachusetts, he summered at his family’s camp on the Rindge shore of Lake Monomonac throughout his childhood. His father, a surgical podiatrist, was the first Chairman of the Board of Franklin Pierce University.

The Hillsboro-Deering deliberative session wasn’t in progress for more than a few minutes before it was under attack with a motion made by resident Leigh Bosse to cut the budget by more than $500,000 to bring it down to the level of last year’s default. His motion was defeated, as was a subsequent motion by school board member John Segedy to cut the budget by $200,000.

Both the default budget and the proposed budget are set at $18,902,276.

Bosse cited dramatic problems with his own business and others in Hillsborough, as well as foreclosures, widespread unemployment and other dire issues resulting from the current recession for his reasons.

“My wife and I had to lay off an employee we had for 20 years. I shed a tear over that,” Bosse explained. “But we wouldn’t have been able to stay business if we hadn’t. The public sector has to learn the same thing.”

“I believe we ought to have a choice,” said resident Dave Fullerton, complaining that the default budget and the proposed budget are exactly the same number, the school board having cut down the proposed budget as a result of feedback from a public hearing.

Hillcat Summer Theatre is rehearsing its first non-summer show, Nunsense, and the five nuns who make up this cast need your help! Hours are very flexible and experience isn’t necessary. Compensation is the eternal gratitude of these five sisters of the poor.

Anyone interested in painting (doesn’t have to be very good—should look like an 8th grader in a hurry), running a follow spot (our veteran stage manager, Jennifer Mayfield, will teach you all you have to know about how to do this), putting flyers and signs up around town or helping with the box office please contact the Producer, Tom Dunn at 428-3544 or dunn.t@comcast.net.

For more information about this, not to be missed, mid-winter musical comedy starring Candie Garvin, Colleen Giffin. Jane Waters, Karen Pellicano and Maureen Menard check out the SAU web site: www.hdsd.org and go to Duncan-Jenkins Trust special projects.

Performances are Feb. 26th and 27th at 7:30 pm and 28th at 2 pm.