With JGPR’s Help, New Hampshire School Expansion Becomes Reality

EXETER – School officials from SAU 16 and local dignitaries recently celebrated the long-awaited opening of an expanded Consolidated Middle School in Stratham.

The SAU 16 District — Brentwood, East Kingston, Exeter, Kensington, Newfields and Stratham – had twice been unable to gain voter support for a bond proposal for the project. Planning a third attempt in 2019, the District then brought on John Guilfoil Public Relations, which provided a multifaceted communications strategy:

• Public meetings in each sending community. These meetings allowed District officials the opportunity to explain to residents the benefits of the project and the resulting tax increase. Meetings also ensured that members of the community could learn about the project directly from the source, and ask questions and offer opinions directly to decision-makers.
• Assistance with branding, messaging and presentation materials. JGPR staff, which has worked on multiple public-sector building projects, used their expertise to anticipate voters’ questions — like why the tax impact would be higher in some communities than others — and incorporate those points into presentations proactively.
• Regular and consistent news releases, used by local media, about the need for the school and the positive impact the project would have.
• A project-specific website with full documentation, promoting transparency and accountability. JGPR worked with the District, architect, and project manager to provide a one-stop resource to the community. In addition, a photographer took compelling photos of spaces in need of an update, capturing the cramped nature in the layout.

Superintendent David Ryan considers JGPR as having played an instrumental role in connecting the District and its communities, and in helping the District win passage of the bond issue on its third try in April 2019.

The $17.8 million project includes additional classrooms, a new elevator closer to the main entrance, addition of a multipurpose room for arts and alternative physical education, and dedicated spaces for staff who concentrate on students’ social and emotional needs.

Teachers who used storage closets for office space now have dedicated areas.

The project also expanded and reconfigured the cafeteria. Before the project, students would attend lunch at one of seven lunch periods, beginning as early as 10 a.m. Lunch is now served in three periods. Benches and picnic tables sit in a new cafeteria courtyard.