School may be still out for the summer, but work hasn't stopped around campus. From roofs to underground plumbing, the Community School District (CSD) Board of Trustees was updated Aug. 13 on several summer projects at the elementary and high schools, and on a lawsuit filed in June around the $30 million project to renovate Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES).  

Facilities Director David Benner talked about several projects. He said annual inspections and maintenance checks are on schedule including elevators and fire, burglary and HVAC systems. In other items, drain inspections uncovered evidence of sagging, cracked blackwater pipes with debris accumulation. Trustee Sewall Maddocks noted that the drain maintenance has not been done in around 20 years, so the extent of work needed would be hard to quantify. He recommended using this year as a baseline and checking again in a year. 

According to Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler, security upgrades to the high school approved earlier this year should be completed before students arrive in September. Director of Safety and Transportation Kyle Canada said the upgrades include new cameras to cover dead spots in and outside the school including stairwells, hallways and the entrance. He said there will also be new panic buttons installed. 

Also at the high school, a new roof coating is being put on as part of a warranty repair for around $10,000 of material expenses, Benner said. And he said the kitchen needs around $4,000 in repairs after a state inspection; a new heat pump is being installed for around $7,300 at the BRHS Maine Health area, and a new dust collection system will be installed at the high school shop classroom for around $30,000.  

At the elementary school, two new scoreboards were put in the gym, paid for by funds raised by the school, Benner said. Principal Shawna Kurr thanked First National Bank and Conley’s Garden Center for raising around half the funds. In addition, a safe room used to help manage students to prevent harm was updated.  

In other business, Kahler updated the board on a lawsuit filed June 14 by citizens whose petition to reconsider and repeal the April 24 vote for a $30 million BRES renovation was rejected by the district. According to Kahler, the plaintiff’s merit briefing was due Aug. 12, and the district’s response is due within 30 days. He said a justice from Maine Superior Court is expected to make a ruling, as agreed on by both parties, in September.  

The conflict has implications for school projects. During the meeting, the board reviewed bids ranging from around $390,000 to $529,000 for repairing elementary school parapets. Kahler said the board will discuss the repairs in upcoming meetings because the plan for priority repairs and the bond mechanism for funding them is unavailable. If done separately from the referendum project, the school charter requires a referendum vote for projects over $250,000.  

“The board will discuss the risks posed by further delay to repairs and weigh the risk of further delays or the option to propose a new repair bond for critical needs until the resolution of the current lawsuit,” Kahler said. 

The project construction committee, formed earlier this summer to explore issues around the BRES renovation, also met Aug. 13. Kahler told the Register, the group discussed site design updates and energy efficiency, including interest to include students in discussions; July 23, the committee approved hiring an energy modeler to evaluate return on investment for efficiency features.

The group has two representatives from each CSD board. Voting members include Peggy Splaine, Abby Jones, Sewall Maddocks and Matt Doucette. Non-voting members include Kahler, Kurr, Benner, Canada and Tricia Campbell. The committee meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month starting at 3:30 p.m.