DIXFIELD — The RSU 10 board Monday approved having the roof at Mountain Valley High School sealed to stop the dozens of leaks that developed from ice and snow buildup this past winter.
Sealing the roof, Buildings and Grounds Director Kenny Robbins said, will buy the district a couple of years. Tentative plans are to eventually replace the roof, which is estimated to cost more than $1 million.
Sealing it will cost about $77,000, which is in the budget. The work is expected to be done soon.
“A sealer is not a guarantee against leakage,” Robbins said. If the roof leaks after being sealed, damage won’t be as great as it was this year, he said.
The roof was installed in 1984 and has had leaks almost from the beginning, Robbins previously said. It has been patched several times, but this year’s extreme weather has resulted in substantially more leaks — at least 65.
Several classrooms had to be moved, the auditorium sustained significant damage and the gymnasium still has tarps hitched to the ceiling to prevent drips.
Principal Matt Gilbert said several classrooms that had been closed for a couple of months have reopened. These include alternative education, art and Family and Consumer Education. He said work is still underway to make the fitness center usable.
Robbins said an architectural firm is nearly finished with its study of the roof and the roof deck, and several repairs have been made.
“We’ve been advised to seal it immediately,” he said.
The annual prom will be held at the Rumford Falls Auditorium on May 17. Anyone with vintage 1920s cars who would be willing to let the class use them to park outside the municipal building is asked to contact the high school. This year’s theme is The Great Gatsby.
The site for the June 5 graduation has not been determined. Gilbert is considering an outdoor graduation on the school’s football field, but no decision has been made.
In other matters Monday night, the board heard a proposal by nutrition director Jeanne LaPointe to save the food service program money. It is thousands of dollars in the red.
LaPointe said federal government reimbursements don’t cover the cost of meals, particularly with the greater emphasis on serving fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
She proposed reducing the number of kitchens from 10 to four, replacing some with satellite sites, and cutting or eliminating hours for several positions.
“This is rather drastic, but it is a model,” LaPointe said.
She estimated the district would save about $150,000 the first year.
The district includes the towns of Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Peru, Buckfield, Hartford, Sumner, Byron, Mexico, Roxbury, Rumford and Hanover. It has 10 schools.
No decisions on the proposal were made.
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