The Hooksett School District and Pinkerton Academy are exploring a longer-term relationship once again.
Mark Wright, first vice-president of the Pinkerton Board of Trustees, gave an update on the relationship between the semi-private Derry high school and Hooksett at the Fall Trustees Meeting Nov. 6 in the Astro Café at the school.
Wright reminded the group of the school’s history with Hooksett. “Following the termination of their Manchester contract, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for one year, 2014-15,” he said. In the polls that March the Hooksett voters rejected a longer-term contract. But Hooksett and Pinkerton did approve a second MOU for 2015-16, he said.
The two parties signed the second MOU and it is awaiting approval by the state Department of Education, he said.
Wright reiterated that if a Hooksett child starts at Pinkerton as a freshman, he or she will be allowed to continue to graduation.
A committee including Trustees Chairman Brad Ek, Dr. Timothy Butterfield, Kimberly Smith, William Nevis and Headmaster Griffin Morse has been meeting with Hooksett personnel, including Charles Littlefield, the superintendent. They are discussing a possible longer-term agreement “that meets both Hooksett and Pinkerton needs,” Wright said. Their negotiations are still at the committee level and have not reached the full board of either entity, he said.
Wright said the agreement they are exploring is not a year-to-year deal but something more long range. “It’s not in the interests of Pinkerton to go year-to-year, and it’s not what Hooksett is interested in,” he said.