GOFFSTOWN — School officials yesterday were noncommital about the offer from a resident to study and make recommendations for change at Mountain View Middle School for free.

Benjamin Hampton, an adjunct faculty member at Manchester Community College, said he would not charge the district to evaluate the middle school, which has come under fire recently for lack of academic rigor, rumors of staff dissatisfaction and school climate issues. The school board voted unanimously in April to hire a consultant, which could cost $30,000 to $60,000.

According to SAU 19 Superintendent Stacy Buckley, two other consulting firms have also come forward to offer their services for a fee. Buckley said that if Hampton wishes to be considered as a consultant, he is welcome to forward his resume and a proposal, and the district will factor that into its final decision.

Buckley said the district plans to hire a consultant to conduct an unbiased study that will seek input from teachers, parents and community members to review data to get the most objective and accurate view of the school.

In a letter to a parent, Buckley said, “The reason for the study is that the community continues to state extremely negative things about the school for a variety of reasons. We are looking to gather an objective review of the programs, staff, administration, structure, etc., to assist us in identifying not only the things that need to change, but also assist the public in better understanding the positive things about the school and those things that they are doing well.”

Buckley said the funding for the study will come from a surplus in the budget in energy costs, particularly the line item for oil.

School Board Vice Chairman Dian McCarthy said she was excited about the goals of the study that Buckley presented to the board on April 16. In terms of Hampton's offer, he would need to submit a proposal to the district for consideration, and as of yet, she has not seen any offer from Hampton to the School Board, said McCarthy.

“If for nothing more than to strive to make Mountain View an exemplar for other middle schools — that would be awesome,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy acknowledged that she has heard of complaints about MVMS, but said she has heard compliments as well.

“There are definitely things that need to be fixed, but there are a lot of positives,” she said.

McCarthy said she is saddened by negative perceptions of the school that may or may not be based on fact.

“It's a shame,” she said.

“A lot of the facts that are out there aren't accurate,” said School Board member Keith Allard.“ We really do need to go out of the house to do this without a bias,” he said.

Allard said if Hampton is serious about his offer to act as a consultant for the district, “he should come down to the SAU and find out what they're looking to do and submit his information.”

In terms of academics, Buckley said MVMS has made several improvements since the 2002 study of MVMS was conducted, including the addition of Algebra I and II and Advanced Algebra and high school level French and Spanish for grades 7 and 8.

In addition, Buckley said a new reading program for all grades has a strong writing component.

“We have already seen a growth in writing based on this new implementation,” Buckley said. “Based on NECAP data, we have made consistent growth in writing.”

McCarthy said that sorting out the issues is complex.

“This is a multifaceted issue and in order to tackle a multifaceted issue, you need a multifaceted approach,” she said.