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Select Board discusses proposed amendment on regional middle school costs and calls for clarity on preexisting capital work
Summary
Select Board reviewed a letter from the neighboring town’s select board on a proposed regional agreement amendment and discussed carve‑outs for preexisting capital needs at the middle school; board members urged clearer cost quotes and said prior deficiencies should be addressed before cost sharing.
Select Board members reviewed a recent letter from the neighboring town’s select board concerning an amendment that would alter how middle‑school capital costs are allocated if the towns pursue a unified middle‑school arrangement.
The neighboring board’s letter said it favored the amendment in principle but asked that capital costs be apportioned on a proportional basis and clarified concerns about whether regional committees could place capital items on warrants without both towns’ approval. Sandown board members responded that existing law and prior agreements already contain carve‑out language for preexisting deficiencies and that prior reports and planning materials identified items that predated any regionalization discussion.
Board members said they want clearer, itemized quotes for proposed capital projects at the middle school — in particular roofing and moisture/mold remediation that had been discussed by the school district’s capital planning group. Select Board members repeated a recurring point: if capital defects existed before any potential regionalization, those preexisting problems should be addressed by the town that owned or was responsible for the work at the time. "Fix them, and then we'll share the house together," one board member said in summary of the position.
The board discussed a March capital‑planning presentation in which the district requested funds for Unified Middle School work driven by recurring moisture issues. Members said the district described the request as safety‑driven and of high priority but that the district had not yet provided fully developed quotes. The Select Board asked town officials and the school committee to continue work on an amendment and to provide town meeting‑ready language and cost estimates so voters can consider the proposal.
No vote was taken at the meeting; board members instructed staff to draft a response and to ask the district for clearer, itemized estimates and documentation of which capital items are preexisting and which would be newly created by a unified arrangement.
