WALES — The Regional School Unit 4 board discussed the future of Sabattus Primary School on Wednesday evening.
According to Glen Reynolds, RSU 4 director of operations, the K-5 school needs maintenance to make it more sustainable.
The board discussed ideas regarding renovations, including an addition, and also talked about repurposing the school to use as a special education day-treatment program for children normally forced to attend schools in other districts because of RSU 4’s lack of accommodations.
The next step in this process is for the Facilities Committee to gather cost estimates and proposals to be discussed at future board meetings. Board member Scott Weeks of Litchfield said any money put into the school can only benefit the future of it, whether the building is renovated or repurposed.
Reynolds mentioned that even if the school was minimally upgraded, it would save lighting and heating costs.
Superintendent Jim Hodgkin commented on the hard work of the custodial staff in the preparations that went into getting all of the schools in the district ready for the new school year. He mentioned that the teachers in RSU 4 are entering their second year of working without a contract and expressed his frustration at this. This process is ongoing and Hodgkin said he is anxious to have everybody at the table to discuss and resolve this matter.
In other news, Hodgkin nominated Jim and Jennifer Waterman to receive the Maine Superintendents’ Association 2015 Distinguished Service Award.
Hodgkin commended the Watermans on their continued efforts volunteering their time to improve the sports fields, facilitating the production of the snack shack and organizing summer athletic programs. The board unanimously agreed.
The planned executive session to discuss the superintendent’s performance evaluation was postponed by a general consensus of the board because of the absence of four board members: Chairman Bob English of Wales, Jessica Childs of Litchfield, Robert Gayton Jr. of Sabattus and Amedeo Lauria of Sabattus.
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