Ken, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, reviewed recent and planned facilities work and a preliminary FY26 maintenance budget at the Mendon‑Upton School Committee meeting on Jan. 6, 2025.

Ken described routine preventive maintenance, recent projects and ongoing capital priorities. Recent work he listed included LED lighting upgrades, carpet and tile replacement in multiple buildings, gym floor repairs and a water meter replacement that required shutting down water lines for several days. Ken said the district has been buying heating oil in 5,000‑gallon lots and monitors tank levels to avoid overfilling. "We just bought 5,000 gallons the other day. We buy them in 5,000 gallon increments," he said.

Administrators said the district negotiated a new electricity supply contract at about 12¢ per kilowatt‑hour — below the current utility supply rate of roughly 14.5¢ — and that combined with the LED conversion they expect about a 20% reduction in kilowatt usage. The district also noted that solar net‑metering credits reduce overall electricity expense and that solar contract payments are approximately 10¢/kWh to the solar company.

Ken described recurring maintenance staffing and raised a potential future shift toward a mixed "maintenance" staff model (including carpentry, plumbing and electrical skills) rather than a pure custodial corps, to better manage capital projects and reduce outsourcing costs. He said the district has recently added an assistant for buildings and grounds to support inspections and coordination across multiple sites.

Committee members asked whether some capital tasks (for example, refinishing or painting lockers) could be handled by in‑house staff rather than external contractors; Ken said certain large or high‑elevation projects still require outside contractors, but that other work could be undertaken internally if the district expanded its maintenance skill set. He said capital projects — including a roof replacement, auditorium work and building management system upgrades — will be proposed in the spring capital planning process.

Administrators noted the capital list remains large; for FY26 the maintenance operational budget is largely level funded with an increase driven by salary steps in custodial salaries and additional water‑system expenses at MSCO. Ken said the district would present capital requests and further cost estimates to the committee in spring meetings.