One of the biggest issues that need to be addressed is Boothbay Region Elementary School's ventilation, CSD Facilities and Transportation Director Dave Benner said at the trustees' Oct. 3 meeting.

When the ducting was installed during the school's construction, fiberglass was used to minimize noise and has been breaking down ever since, said Benner. Though the particles from the fiberglass are not toxic, they are an irritant, he added.

Trustees were charged with forming a prioritized list of the projects involved with the Honeywell report and Benner, with the help of Honeywell representatives, created a project scope summary. At its forefront are the issues he felt most pressing.

“I am by no means an expert and we all are knowledgeable about a lot of things,” Benner said. “It's pretty difficult because there are so many different ways to look at all of the projected work we have, so I tried to lay it out as best as I could.”

The scope summary breaks down categories with various items into three priority levels. For example, lighting upgrades in both BRES and BRHS are categorized as “Priority 1,” or highest. Twelve out of 25 items for BRES, including the ventilation issues, are listed as top priorities.

The list offers two different project options with estimates. Option one includes all the projects and comes out to $4,989,463; option two excludes items like replacing the BRES transformer, adding controls to unit ventilators in BRHS, and replacing various heating ventilation units in BRES. It comes out to $3,413,816.

“Originally when we started talking about this, we had no idea we were talking $5 million. I was thinking two or three … We were taken aback when we saw some of these estimates.”

Benner recommended starting with all the number one priorities specifically with BRES, but he and trustees said little can be planned until the board has the $60,000 for a consultant to get some hard numbers.

Boothbay Town Manager Dan Bryer and Selectman Dale Harmon offered Boothbay’s full support in finding an answer to the issues.

“I’ve heard a lot of chatter in the community,” Harmon said. “I've heard people that would love to see a new school here, and I've had other people say 'It's a waste of money, the enrollment's going down anyway – what's the sense to build a new school?’”

Trustee Steve Lorrain said the towns first need to decide whether or not they want an elementary or high school.

“They have to decide that. It's a yes or a no question, it’s not a ‘well, maybe we should –,’” said Lorrain.

Trustee Ronnie Campbell suggested putting a vote before the two towns over whether the schools should be fixed, new schools built, a combination of fixing and rebuilding, or doing nothing.

Bryer agreed and said hard numbers are needed soon so the towns can begin holding public hearings. Bryer said both Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor select boards have put forth two members each for a joint committee to spearhead the schools’ issues and will be calling for it to convene as soon as possible.

“I mean, this is not going to be easy. The sooner we can get options out there and start to involve the public, the quicker we’ll actually start to feel like we're putting one foot in front of the other,” said Bryer.

Superintendent Keith Laser recommended trustees soon bring a cost figure, whatever it may be, to both towns tell them “this is coming your way.” It will force people to make decisions, even if the reaction is negative and forces the boards to find an alternative, he said.

“It’s probably time to have this discussion and put it on the ballot and say, ‘OK, guys, you've got a choice. You can spend this amount of money, you can spend this, or you can close them down and move everybody to another school district … There's probably more options that a think tank could come up with, but, to me, that’s the stuff that I’m hearing around the community (and) that’s what I heard loud and clear at the (joint) meeting. People want the school – OK, now you gotta pay for it, you gotta do something, and money’s got to come from someplace.”