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Superintendent outlines school construction program site visits, timelines and district needs
Summary
Superintendent Gleason reported that RSU 06 submitted seven school construction applications and that site visits are scheduled in February; he outlined the rating criteria and noted enrollment and aging-infrastructure concerns that will influence planning.
Superintendent Gleason told the RSU 06/MSAD 06 Board of Directors that the district submitted applications for seven schools to the state school construction program and that site visits by the review team are scheduled for mid-February.
Gleason said site visits will include a meeting (about one hour) and a tour (about two hours) and are currently scheduled for Feb. 11–13, with additional visits running through March. He said the visiting team will rate each school on criteria that include building systems, traffic flow, programmatic suitability, and site conditions; the rating process is expected to be completed by June and the final list released by the end of 2025.
Gleason noted the district’s entries “are on the later end” of the review schedule and said he has heard the statewide application pool numbers reported as about 98 applications; he said RSU 06 submitted seven applications. He described several district infrastructure issues that could factor into ratings, including aging boilers and sewer systems at older buildings and limited dedicated program space for expanded special-education services. He said these are the kinds of deficiencies the review team will consider in addition to building population.
Gleason also summarized packet materials he distributed to the board: support-staff hires and resignations, current truancy figures, and enrollment trends. He said January enrollment was “pretty much even with January 2023” and that the district is down 22 students from the previous year. Board members asked about the frequency of the state funding rounds; Gleason said the program opens periodically (the last round he recalled was 2017) and that discussions are underway at the state level about changing the process and funding model.
When asked what would happen to buildings if a project were accepted, Gleason said towns have expressed interest in reuse for municipal or commercial purposes and that repurposing would present options. He also said that if the district does not receive funding, the board will need to prioritize smaller, local fixes for aging systems.
