Lubec school board weighs maintenance costs

The high cost of recovering from years of postponed repairs and upkeep dominated the marathon meeting of the Lubec school board held on January 13. The meeting, which ran for two and a half hours before a full board and a larger-than-usual audience, returned to several items that had been previously discussed but when taken together represent a substantial cost in the face of public concern over rising taxes. These include the school's yet-to-be-installed classroom heat pumps; the discovery of additional work needed for the installation of upgraded windows; the need for a new fire system control panel; and the yet-to-be-resolved repointing of the brick wall behind the gymnasium. Many of these items are considered to be the result of years of deferred maintenance.
Additionally, the annual budget process is set to get under way, with preliminary work planned for the next meeting. Following that, three public workshops will be held an hour before the March, April and May meetings, in the hope of presenting a finalized budget during a referendum slated for June. Meetings are normally held on the first Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room. Selectman Nancy Harrison, speaking from the audience, urged the school committee to meet with both the select board and the town's budget committee in formulating the proposed 2025-26 budget. "The school budget is more than half of the town's budget," she pointed out. "That doesn't sit well."
AOS 77 Superintendent MaryEllen Day said, "We're worried about how high our budget can get," prompting a question from the floor about the low level of state subsidy due to the impact of the town's extensive shoreline in raising property values. Day replied, "Every superintendent on the coast is knocking on Augusta's door asking why our share" of the state subsidy is so low.
The heat pump issue revolves around the responsibility for completing the installation of the pumps, which requires upgraded electrical boxes. Reportedly they are on back-order. The pumps, financed with COVID relief funds, were intended to provide heat to the elementary school classrooms, which are presently heated by a pair of boilers that have been deemed aged but serviceable. During the recent cold spell, the boilers functioned properly, but in both cases the circulation pumps required attention, raising the specter of increased costs to provide heat with old equipment while new equipment sits idle.
Like the heat pumps, the upgraded windows were funded by COVID relief money. According to Principal Tina Wormell, the old windows have deteriorated to the point where winter winds intrude on the classrooms. Anderson, the provider of the new windows, now says they cannot do the necessary work in updating the frames. This unanticipated and non budgeted task has been estimated at $16,000. When board member Richard Huntley moved to get legal assistance in recovering the cost, he failed to get a second. A subsequent motion that accepted the estimated increase passed 4-1.
The fire system control panel, which also serves other alarm systems within the school, is obsolete. Huntley admitted, "It needs to be replaced." Replacing this unit requires extensive labor and carries a total cost of $5,360.
According to Wormell, during inclement weather water seeps through the brickwork on the south side of the gymnasium and runs down the inside wall. This is evidence of the need to repoint the brickwork; the estimated cost is $1.8 million. This issue has been raised repeatedly over the last year, but the projected cost has provided the stumbling block. "I think we need to put this before the people," said board Chair Wanda Reed. Huntley pointed out that a spray on sealer could have reduced the risk of this kind of failure, but it should have been done years ago. Wormell added, "Many voters would not have spent a penny on this building. Now we're paying."
The current budget, approved by voters on June 17, 2024, includes a total of $67,526 for roof payment, principal and interest, with a notation that this was the first payment of 10.

Other business
In other business, two agenda items placed at Reed's request were discussed. The first one involved her suggestion that job descriptions be prepared for school employees. She stated that several other towns had such documents in place and showed a sheaf of papers, stating that they were Lubec's descriptions from 1989. Teacher Anna Street, speaking from the audience, pointed out that she had started with the school in 1987. "I never once saw that before." The board voted 5-0 to create an ad hoc committee to look into the proposal, appointing Reed and Vice Chair Richard Eaton to that committee.
Reed also brought forward a proposal to assign administrative duties to a staff member during times the principal is absent. It was pointed out that the need for this had not been experienced and that it had the potential of creating a legal issue. When Reed continued to push, Day observed that such a position did exist in large schools and that the individual was certified and received pay commensurate with the position. "No one here is certified to be an assistant principal," she stated. "This would make me very uncomfortable," said Street, prompting board member Jane Lanctot to suggest, "We should move on."
Community use of school facilities was also discussed, with Day pointing out that while paperwork has long been in place for organizations looking for a venue, the school lacks a formal policy dictating responsibilities. The matter was tabled pending the creation of a policy similar to that in place in other schools. The proposed policy will then be the subject of the standard two readings prior to adoption.
The meeting, which began at 5:30 p.m., adjourned at 7:50 p.m.