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Orono Public Schools reports summer construction progress; new career center, science lab and field improvements on schedule
Summary
District staff reported that the high school college and career center and new science labs are on schedule and on budget; the board heard timelines for demolition of the student center, parking-lot phased replacement, field restorations and funding from bonds and donations.
Orono Public Schools staff updated the school board on a series of summer 2025 facilities projects, reporting that the new college and career center at the high school and the added science lab space are on budget and progressing toward fall use.
Superintendent Dr. Flesher and Nick Tainter, the district’s director of business services, told the board the career center will serve as a hub for college and career advising, internships and visits from college admissions representatives. Tainter said the two major summer projects "are coming in on budget and on time." The district publicly thanked donors Richard and Jenny Gells and the Nickerson family for contributions that funded the career center and auditorium lighting upgrades.
Tainter described other summer work completed or underway: indoor air quality upgrades at the middle and link schools, an updated secure entry at the middle school, renovations to JV and varsity baseball and softball fields that will permit the varsity baseball team to return to on-campus play, and a high school science room addition scheduled to be ready by September. Student center demolition work is scheduled to begin with completion targeted for early November; the district is receiving bids for demolition and has permitted law enforcement and fire departments to use the building for training in the weeks before demolition.
Funding for the projects includes more than $400,000 in donor contributions earmarked for specific projects and bond proceeds the district sold in early June. Tainter said the district issued operating capital bonds, long-term facility maintenance (LTFM) bonds and abatement bonds; he described those instruments as financing sources for field improvements, the science addition, deferred maintenance (windows, building envelope, tuckpointing) and planned parking-lot abatement and replacement work.
Board members asked about student interaction with active construction. Tainter and Dr. Flesher said construction phasing and building plans are intended to minimize disruption at the start of school; the science lab will not be ready the first day, so classes will share spaces until completion, and parking-lot replacements will likely be phased—roughly half of lots one summer and the balance the next—to avoid campus-wide shutdowns. Tainter said the district will coordinate staging, alternate parking and communications with staff and families.
No formal board votes were required on the update. The board acknowledged planning complexity and thanked facilities and custodial staff for summer work that administrators said improves safety and learning spaces across campus.
