BRIDGEWATER — The New Hampshire Board of Education has approved the formation of the Pasquaney School District for the towns of Bridgewater, Hebron, and Groton, the three towns that voted to leave School Administrative Unit 4 which governs the Newfound Area School District.
Pasquaney is the Native American name for Newfound Lake, and is said mean “the place where birch bark for canoes is made”.
The new cooperative school district will begin operations on July 1, 2025, and will be responsible for kindergarten through Grade 12 — which likely will mean tuitioning students to an area high school.
The state board’s June 13 approval allowed the selectmen of the three towns to appoint Erick Piper of Bridgewater, Virginia Parker of Groton, and Max Colson of Hebron to serve on a pro tem school board until March 2025 when voters will choose the school board members who take over to operate the school.
Piper said he is very exited about the prospects of defining their own school system.
“We have a chance to really refocus on some things that we’ve wanted for a long time,” he said: “a K-8. We have a chance to expand options for parents. We have the chance now to limit the geography a little; you know, the bus rides for our kids. We have a chance to really, really work on making sure parents have more input, you know, direct input. Smaller districts can provide that.”
The Pasquaney School District is awaiting the letter from the Board of Education to make the appointments official, but meanwhile has scheduled an initial meeting for Wednesday, June 19, at 6 p.m. at the Bridgewater Town Hall.
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