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Foster School Committee outlines 5-year capital plan, details boiler and well projects amid budget pressures
Summary
School committee members presented a five-year capital plan that prioritizes boiler replacement, conversion from oil to propane and a well project requiring PFAS-related treatment; officials described enrollment forecasts and unanticipated tuition and aid shortfalls affecting the district budget.
Members of the Foster School Committee briefed the town council on the district’s five-year capital plan, immediate priorities and budget pressures during the meeting.
School representatives said the school’s priority capital projects this year include boiler and hot-water replacement work and a well project complicated by emerging PFAS treatment requirements. The committee said the boiler and conversion from oil to propane are intended to improve long-term maintainability. “A new elementary school building now ... run anywhere from $20,000,000 to $30,000,000,” a school representative said, explaining why the committee favors maintaining and investing in the existing building through targeted capital work.
Committee members said the well has been drilled and is producing water, but because PFAS treatment guidance emerged as the project proceeded the district is still defining the appropriate treatment system; they said the state is providing significant reimbursement support for PFAS-related work but that the exact reimbursement mechanics remain to be confirmed. The committee also noted unexpected operating costs this year, including a loss of $18,500 in state aid and about $170,000 for out-of-district tuitions and transportation, which lowered available fund balance for capital use.
The district said it typically budgets to invest roughly $300,000 to $500,000 a year in the building and that state reimbursement for eligible capital projects is approximately 38 percent for Foster. Current enrollment was reported at 246 (including prekindergarten); the committee forecast enrollment rising toward about 300 students by 2028–29, and cautioned that demographic forecasting is an estimate based on live-birth data and other variables.
Ending: The school committee asked the council to consider the capital plan in budget planning; committee members said they will supply exact PFAS-reimbursement figures and other requested details to the council as they become available.
