The $7 million campaign is the largest fundraising effort in Cannon School’s history. It began last year in its “quiet phase” and managed to raise $5 million.

The 900-student private school is home to grades K-12 and attracts students from across different communities. The campaign was initiated in order to keep facilities modern and up-to-date to keep student enrollment up while giving students the best possible facilities to learn in.

The campaign will pay for several improvements on the campus including a large focus on a $3 million performing arts center that will include a 450-seat auditorium and an art gallery. Another project funded by the campaign will be the new athletic facilities, totaling $2.5 million, which will include strength training and conditioning, renovated locker rooms and a new Randy Marion Family Field House at the football stadium.

The school was founded in 1969 as Cabarrus Academy and only moved to its current site in 1994. In 1998 the school was renamed to Cannon School and graduated its first class of high school students at the new site in 2002.

The new projects will also target LEED certification, although specifics have not yet been made public.

The contributors for the campaign include school alumni, families in support of the school as well as the Cannon School’s Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees pledged $1 million last year as well as an anonymous donor from a Cannon School family for $1 million for the school’s performing arts center. Another big contributor is the Marion family, who pitched in $500,000 to name the new Randy Marion Family Field House.

“It’s an amazing show of support that we have raised so much in a year and a half, most from current parents,” said Todd Hartung, director of advancement at Cannon School. “That speaks well of their experiences here.”

The campaign is not over yet, and Hartung is currently in the last phase of funds. The school will be reaching out to the community for support and funds to complete the campaign this year.

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“Under the old system, if a project met the eligibility requirements, it was funded,” said Edward Murdough, administrator for the bureau of school approval and facility management for the N.H. Department of Education. “Under the new system, it will be competitive and will depend on the amount of money provided in the budget. This probably means that schools are less likely to receive state aid, especially in the next few years.”

The law, which takes effect July 1, 2013, replaces a generous practice that districts have been relying on since 1955.

For the first time ever, the state is capping aid at $50 million annually, but only $6.2 million of that is available for new projects the first year. The rest is earmarked to pay off the state’s nearly $540 million share of 360 existing projects, according to the New Hampshire School Administration Association (NHSAA), whose members include superintendents of schools, assistant superintendents, school business officials, special education directors, curriculum coordinators and other system administrators.

The NHSAA estimates it will take the state nearly 30 years to pay off the projects already in progress, but as the state makes the payments more money will be become available for new projects.

Although there are some objections, Murdough believes some may appreciate the law if they look towards the long-term goals.

“The law restores state aid for new school construction projects, which has not been available for the last three years. Since the state share will be paid up front, school districts will not need to borrow the full amount and will therefore save significant amounts of interest,” he explained. “In the long-term it will be less costly for the state to provide aid for the same amount of construction, as would have been the case if the old system continued.”

Currently no projects have been approved or funded under the new state construction aid law, as the new system won’t officially begin until next fiscal year. Interim rules laying out the guidelines for the completion are due November 1, with the final rules due April 30. Murdough is in charge of creating the rules, and plans to assign points to a list of criteria — unsafe conditions will receive the highest consideration.

“The prioritization system is under development,” he said. “Projects will be prioritized based on the existing conditions with life-safety concerns being the highest priority.”

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