LONDONDERRY — Having attained the New England Association of Schools and College's (NEASC) highest accreditation, the staff at Londonderry High School is working hard to stay at the top.

That might present a challenge in the years ahead, as school administrators work toward meeting the NEASC's recommendation of building an auditorium at the high school.

The lack of a performing arts center was one of the few areas where Londonderry High School came up short during the most recent NEASC survey.

As it stands now, drama club performances are sometimes held at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry, while other events, such as the Mr. LHS contest, take place in the gym or cafeteria.

During Tuesday night's School Board meeting, Principal Jason Parent said a committee will soon be formed to research various options over the next three years.

Further discussion on the new committee will take place at an upcoming meeting.

The auditorium project has been listed on the district's proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the past several years and is targeted for 2019, though in terms of need, the CIP committee had ranked the project low.

In the town's most recent CIP, the school district's auditorium project was listed as a Priority 3, meaning it's considered by the CIP committee to be a “want” rather than a “need.”

Although listed as a town project, it is stated in the CIP that the auditorium is “for the needs of the District's music and performing arts programs. When available, the building will be open to other community programs and organizations.”

The CIP committee noted that initial engineering costs for the auditorium would cost an estimated $500,000. School officials further noted that costs for the building's actual construction are difficult to estimate as construction costs will likely be higher by the time the target year rolls around.

In early August, when the coming year's CIP projects were announced, several school projects were determined to be of higher priority.

Listed as a Priority 2 project, the district's $100,000 new SAU office is targeted for 2016. District-wide renovations were likewise listed as Priority 2 projects.

District Business Administrator Peter Curro said the SAU office project has been pushed aside repeatedly over the years since other school facility needs trumped a new superintendent's office.

This past spring, as town officials began the process of updating Londonderry's master plan, school administrators received some input from out-of-district architects and consultants, though funding of the project presents an ongoing challenge.

In June 2011, school officials noted that a two-year state moratorium on building aid would delay the project further, so funding of the auditorium could be a major challenge.

Parent said the most recent NEASC survey has been a multiple-year process, and staff have worked diligently to address the organization's multiple recommendations.

The NEASC is tasked with evaluating public schools based on seven standards of best practice.

Assistant Principal Kim Lindley Soucy said the process began with a thorough self-study that started in 2008.

NEASC representatives visited the school in November 2011.

Lindley-Soucy said NEASC officials spent a total of 54 hours interviewing students and 45 hours observing classroom activity.

NEASC gave its final report in spring 2011, and the most recent progress report arrived earlier this month.

English teacher Steve Juster, who serves on the school's NEASC standards committee, said 61 percent of the NEASC's recommendations have already been addressed and solutions to the other recommendations are in the works.

Londonderry school officials believe they've earned one of the state's highest ranking for a highs school housing 1,000 students or more.

The NEASC's 65-page report on Londonderry High School may be viewed online at www.londonderry.org/lhs.

aguilmet@newstote.com