MSAD 51 board approves $488,000 high-school electrical upgrade after safety warning

The MSAD 51 Board of Directors approved a $488,000 electrical-service upgrade at the high school on Thursday after district staff and Central Maine Power (CMP) urged immediate replacement of an unsafe service run beneath the building.

Jeff, the district facilities lead, told the board that architects and CMP recommended removing service routed under the center of the high school and bringing all wiring up to current code. "This item went to facilities committee for review," Jeff said, summarizing the technical review and safety concerns and adding that the work will “stop putting service underneath the middle of the high school.” He said the existing service is at capacity and that additional electrical load from planned energy projects cannot be added without the upgrade.

Board members pressed officials on payment sources and timing. The administration recommended funding the work from the one-campus project’s contingencies rather than from one-year capital reserves, noting that the one-campus fund still contains contingency and unexpended alternate funds. "There’s definitely money to cover this," the administration said during discussion, while also acknowledging they did not have final up-to-date line-by-line figures at the meeting.

Members raised urgency tied to CMP’s scheduling: the required outage would likely take place during the summer, and CMP’s calendar is a central constraint. "It would definitely be a summer project," Jeff said, noting that the outage window and the need to restore power before term start make summer the only practical window.

Chair put the motion to a voice vote after discussion of scope, urgency and funding; the meeting transcript records the board moving forward with the recommendation to use one-campus project funds. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript.

What happens next: district staff will schedule the CMP work for summer, finalize procurement steps, and update the board with current one-campus budget figures before any additional commitments. The district also said it will return to the board if bids or final prices differ materially from the $488,000 estimate.

Funding and context: The work was presented as both a safety correction and a capacity upgrade required to enable future projects at the high school. District officials said funding the work across the life of the bond makes sense because the upgrade’s useful life aligns with the larger one-campus project, and that the district has about $800,000 in project contingency and several million in unspent alternates from prior bids that could be reprioritized.

Board members and administrators said they will supply a more current one-campus budget update before the board’s next meeting so trustees can confirm that committing the contingency is the right call.