NOW COMES the Oyster River Cooperative School District through its attorneys, Soule, Leslie, Kidder, Sayward & Loughman and submits the following two motions as follows:

1. The Oyster River Cooperative School District moves that it be allowed to intervene as a party defendant and in support thereof states as follows:

   1. The Oyster River Cooperative School District is a municipal corporation that was incorporated on July 1, 1954 under Chapter 199 of the Laws of 1947 and has a principal place of business at SAU #5, 36 Coe Drive, Durham, NH 03824-2200.

   2. The Oyster River Cooperative School District adopted the provisions of RSA 40:13 (official ballot voting) in March 1996.

   3. At the March 14, 2000 annual school district meeting of the Oyster River Cooperative School District by a vote of 2168 yes to 1143 no (65.48%) voters approved Article 3 in the School District warrant which authorized the issuance of $20,401,960 of bonds or notes in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Finance Act (RSA Ch. 33) and raised the additional sum of $693,667 for the payment of the first year's interest on the bonds.

   4. Pursuant to RSA 33:8 the moderator declared that Article 3 had passed having received in excess of 3/5ths of those voting.

   5. Until the issues presented in this case challenging the validity of the 1999 Amendments to RSA 33:8 (Chapter 134 Laws of 1999) have been resolved, the Oyster River School District will be unable to sell its bonds or proceed with renovations and additions to the Oyster River High School.

   6. The prompt resolution of the exact issues presented in the action herein bear directly on the welfare of the students, parents, teachers, voters and taxpayers of the Oyster River Cooperative School District. The Oyster River Cooperative School District will incur increased expense and be prejudiced by the delay in selling its bond and starting its project if it is required to litigate the exact same legal issues pending in this case in a separate proceeding brought in the Strafford County Superior Court.

   7. Judicial economy requires that the Oyster River Cooperative School District be allowed to join as a party defendant in the within matter and that the legal issues raised herein be resolved for the benefit of the students, parents, teachers, voters and taxpayers of the Oyster River Cooperative School District.

   8. Allowing the Oyster River Cooperative School District to be a named party defendant in the within case will not raise any additional legal or factual issues not already before the Court and will not prejudice either the plaintiff or the defendant but will resolve the "cloud" over the Oyster River Cooperative School District's March 2000 bond vote.

   9. The Plaintiff Richard McGraw and the current defendant, the Exeter Regional Cooperative School District do not object to the granting of this motion.

2. In addition the Oyster River Cooperative School District moves that this matter be transferred immediately without further proceeding to the New Hampshire Supreme Court on an interlocutory appeal and in support thereof states as follows.

   10. The Oyster River Cooperative School District incorporates all the representations set forth under paragraphs 1 through 9 above and in addition states:

   11. The Oyster River Cooperative School District requires a prompt resolution to the issues raised in this action in order to avoid substantial damage to the District including without limitation:

       1. damage caused by the substantial increase in the cost of construction and increased bond costs as a result of delays in the commencement of the Oyster River High School building project;

       2. damage to student welfare within the District due to the delay in completing the necessary renovations to the Oyster River High School (Presently 75-80 students have been displaced and must attend school in neighboring Dover because of damage to facilities caused by a fire. In addition the New England Association of Schools and Colleges has placed the Oyster River High School on probation and it may lose its accreditation due to the substandard facilities and overcrowding);

       3. damage to student welfare caused by forcing the District to abandon the thoughtful sequencing of renovations which had been designed to minimize disruption to the students' educational environment;

       4. damage caused by the inability of the District's consulting contractors and architect to hold their schedules open for the District's project due to the lingering uncertainty this challenge creates; and

       5. damage to the moral of the personnel, students and parents of the Oyster River High School caused by yet another delay in completing a project that has been the central focus of many within the District for the past three years.

   12. Lost educational opportunity to students caused by any delay in resolving this matter cannot be remediated and thereby necessitates a prompt and final resolution of this mater.

WHEREFORE, the Oyster River Cooperative School District requests this Honorable Court:

1. Grant its Motion to Intervene as a party defendant;

2. Grant the pending Motion of the Exeter Regional Cooperative School District for an Interlocutory transfer to the Supreme Court without a ruling; and

3. Grant such other and further relief as may be just and equitable.

Respectfully submitted this 10th day of April 2000.

OYSTER RIVER COOPERATIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT
By its Attorneys,
Soule, Leslie, Kidder, Sayward & Loughman

By: [signed]
Gordon B. Graham
220 Main Street
Salem, NH 03079
(603)898-9776
N.H. Bar No. 981

I Thomas Carroll in my capacity as Superintendent of Schools of the Oyster River School District, do hereby verify and affirm under the penalties of perjury the factual representations set forth in the within Motion dated April 11, 2000.

[signed]
Thomas Carroll, Superintendent of Schools
Oyster River School District

State of New Hampshire
Strafford County

April 11, 2000

Personally appeared the above-named Thomas Carroll and made oath that his statement is true and accurate to the best of his knowledge and belief before me.

[signed]
Justice of the Peace/Notary Public
My Commission Expires: 8-18-04

I hereby certify that I have forwarded a copy of the within Motion this day by U.S. mail, postage prepaid to the following: Stephen G. Hermans, Esq., counsel for the Exeter Regional Cooperative School District, Paul McEachern, Esq., counsel for the plaintiff, Douglas Hatfield, Esq., counsel for the John Stark School District, and Norman H. Makechnie, Esq., counsel for the Conval School District.

[signed]
Gordon B. Graham

SOULE, LESLIE, KIDDER,
SAYWARD & LOUGHMAN
P.L.L.C.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
SALEM & LACONIA
NEW HAMPSHIRE

Last update on 19-Apr-00 at 10:20 PM.

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