With an open seat on Allenstown’s school board, Cheryl McDonald and Justine Newell each see an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between families and the school district.

Before residents vote on Tuesday, here is a little more information about McDonald and Newell, including why they’re running and what they hope to accomplish.

McDonald, a veteran of the U.S. Army, has lived in Allenstown for over four decades. Her children attended school there and now she wants to help improve the district for future generations. McDonald holds a degree in public administration and has professional experience navigating contract negotiations, property-casualty, employee benefits, training and technology. She serves as the trustee of trust funds and sits on the budget committee.

“Our world is rapidly changing, and we owe it to the children to prepare them for the challenges that await them in the future,” McDonald said. “I really look forward to working with the school board and the school community and the administration to help facilitate this common goal.”

Newell, a mother of five, works as a nurse at Concord Hospital, where she sits on a unit-based practice council to review policies and make changes to the department. She and her family moved to Allenstown about six years ago. With her children attending the new Allenstown Community School, Newell has attended board meetings and sees opportunities to create an impact not only for her children but for other families.

“I just want there to be better community involvement and better trust within the school board and our community,” Newell said. “Otherwise people are going to go to these meetings and go vote to take away funding from our schools, and I wouldn’t want that to happen, because the extracurriculars are so important to these kids.”

Both candidates hope to facilitate better communication between the board and families in the district. As a parent, Newell receives daily emails from the school but finds that this form of communication doesn’t effectively highlight positive aspects of the district.

“Sometimes the daily emails people can just kind of ignore, so I’d be interested in trying to use social media to get more community involvement in the school, the school board, and things like that,” Newell said. “It seems that only negative things, at the moment, bring people together, and I think there’s really an opportunity to use positive things to bring people together.”

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For McDonald, this improved communication could come in the form of a new program.

“One of my goals is to create an educational series to help parents in the community understand what goes on within the school board meetings while maintaining a mutually respectful atmosphere,” McDonald said. “I know it’s been a little contentious lately, and I would just like to help add to that respectful atmosphere.”

Newell said she decided to run after her husband, a bus driver in the district, was removed from his position. Despite public support for him to return to his role, administrators stood by the decision. The experience led her to run out of a desire to improve board transparency and strengthen ties with the school community.

“I’d like to help facilitate that growth,” Newell said. “I felt that going to the school board meetings that I’ve gone to, a lot of things are kept quiet, and I’m sure for good reason, but sometimes there is a negative connotation with the non-public meetings, and that some transparency can really help facilitate trust between the community and the school board, so that that negative connotation isn’t always had.”

The Monitor asked school board candidates about education freedom accounts and whether they think the program should stay as it is, be curtailed, or expanded.

“It’s important that funds stay in public schools, for public education, but I also believe people should have freedom of choice,” McDonald said.

Newell said she did not know enough about the program to have an opinion.

BUDGET: Allenstown’s proposed budget of $6.2 million totals a 10.6% increase from last year’s budget. The school’s proposed budget of $13.9 million would have a tax impact of nine cents per $1,000 of property valuation, meaning an additional $36 in property taxes, representing a 2% increase over the current budget. If voters reject the budget proposals, the town will adopt a default budget of $5.5 million, around the same as last year. The default school budget, slightly higher than the proposed budget, falls at $14 million.

NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES: The school warrant includes an article authorizing the school district to sell Allenstown Elementary School and the Armand R. Dupont School. Students from the former elementary and former middle schools moved to the newly completed Allenstown Community School last spring, leaving the fate of the old buildings up in the air.

Following many discussions by the board of selectmen, the town would like to purchase the buildings from the district for $1 each. The board hopes to eventually move the town offices into Allenstown Elementary and use the space for community gatherings. The Armand R. Dupont Middle School, which needs more renovation, will likely be sold after the town acquires it.

For more information, visit allenstownnh.org.

WHEN AND WHERE: Town and school elections will take place at on Tuesday, March 11 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Allenstown Elementary School. As an SB2 community, all warrant articles will be decided, along with elected positions on Tuesday.