District and board members discussed ongoing middle school design work and wider questions about funding, phasing and community engagement as the district balances planning with the absence of state building aid.

Board members were told architects and engineers are close to completing design development and will present the project to city departments for input on site layout, entrances, parking and traffic. Superintendent Murphy and project staff said the city meeting is scheduled for the 10th to review siting and service access.

Several board members noted New Hampshire did not allocate building aid in the current biennium and that building-aid funding remains uncertain for the next biennium. Miss Robinson said, "There is no building aid allocated in the state budget," and emphasized that completing design work now preserves purchasing power if construction is delayed. Mister Richards clarified the district's position: building aid is not eliminated; it is on hold for the biennium.

Public commenters urged caution about spending reserve funds for multiple design contracts. Mister Russell said the transfer of "$4,000,000 plus" from reserve/trust funds to cover architectural design and related expenses worried some residents and called for pausing further work until funding is certain. Board members responded that design work can be useful for future decisions but agreed the board should review phase definitions, cost estimates and potential funding approaches before committing to construction.

Staff said a design-development cost estimate should be available in September, which will enable the building committee and the full board to compare renovation costs with a new-build estimate and to decide near-term maintenance versus long-term options. No binding vote to build or to pause construction occurred at the meeting.