Fixes proposed for Mill Road school

“Like everything, there’s a limit to how much you want to continue to spend,” Sheldon said. The proposed project would replace the two existing boilers with one new boiler to meet the needs of the entire building.

Also highest priority is a complete upgrade to the aging phone system and technology infrastructure to meet the demand for wireless Internet throughout the building. In total, the “first priority” projects would cost more than $2 million to complete, according to the proposal.

Second priority, at $4.5 million, would be to replace unit ventilators throughout the building, which control airflow and temperature in each classroom. According to Sheldon, maintenance and part replacement have become costly while the units themselves are becoming less effective.

Replacing all windows is proposed as third priority, at a cost of $2.5 million. Single panes result in heat loss in cold weather and the storm windows used to mitigate this inefficiency are difficult to use, Sheldon said. Rust on some window frames and general wear have made replacing the windows a structural and cosmetic concern.

Sheldon asked the board to consider the entire proposal and weigh the priorities listed against the financial challenges of the project. “All of these are needed and all of these are going to be needed at some time in the future, if not today,” he said. “But…we have to be reasonable…we need some feedback as to what you as a board feel the community will support.”

School Board President Kelly Mosher observed that, “There’s clearly a cost to not doing this, too… all kinds of replacements and maintenance that we have been doing go away.” She requested a projection of the financial impact if the board were to move ahead with the entire project as proposed.

With debt payments for past capital projects coming off budget in upcoming years, it may be possible to move forward without a major increase to the budget overall.

The school board will discuss the project further in the coming months and finalize its decision on the project by its first meeting in March in order to have a proposition ready for voters to consider in May.

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