The Windham School Board unanimously approved Banwell Architects of Lebanon to build the Golden Brook expansion from the building and grounds committee. The decision follows a building and grounds committee meeting earlier in the day during which committee members interviewed three architectural firms for the job of designing and building the expansion to Golden Brook, a kindergarten and elementary school. Paul Gosselin, committee chairman, said Banwell was very well versed in the district’s needs in terms of cost and the issue of overcrowding in Windham’s schools. Banwell presented a variety of saolutions and plans to the committee, and was also very open to questions and ideas as the process moves forward. New superintendent Tina McCoy was present at the building and grounds committee meeting for the candidate interviews. From an educator’s perspective, McCoy agreed with the committee’s decision based on Banwell’s creativity for building optimal learning environments.“Banwell was far above the most creative, forward-thinking, and sensitive to our needs,” said McCoy. “They are really mindful of the learning environment, they look at the acoustics of the room, they look at how the lighting is to optimize natural light.” Eileen Mashimo was the only member of the public who attended the committee meeting. She said to the board that there was no comparison between Banwell and the other two firms.“I saw smiles on all the faces of these building guys, I don’t know anything about buildings but I looked at the plans and I started to smile, as did every person around the room,” Mashimo said.
