Facilities director outlines asbestos-remediation timeline tied to June bond vote

Brian, the district director, told the facilities committee the district is preparing for asbestos remediation at the high school that will be scheduled immediately after the June bond vote if the bond passes. He said the district has shared a preliminary schedule with high-school staff to clear classrooms, move materials into the gymnasium and perform both asbestos abatement and installation of an arsenic water‑treatment system before classes resume.

The plan, Brian said, assumes a short window between the bond vote and the start of school. "I expect that we'll probably have about a week, maybe two weeks at the most before school starts," he said, and warned that the compressed schedule means the district must coordinate custodial staff, contractors and state testing of the work. He added, "If we do the asbestos remediation, we'll be going to be having cement floors in the high school for next year." That, he said, would be a temporary condition if larger floor-replacement work tied to the bond cannot proceed immediately.

Why it matters: the board is weighing a capital bond that would fund more extensive renovation work — including sewer-line replacements that would otherwise damage new tile — and staff said the remediation schedule depends on the bond outcome. If the bond does not pass, officials said they will revisit options for non‑bond financing and make decisions about temporary finishes and next steps.

Committee members pressed staff on contingency plans. One member asked whether the district would still pursue abatement using a revolving renovation loan if the bond failed; staff said yes, the district should remediate the asbestos regardless of the bond result to keep the school safely operable. Staff emphasized coordinated communication with teachers and families and said they will seek additional community engagement following select‑board meetings already scheduled in late April.

The facilities director said staff will obtain state testing of abatement and the arsenic treatment system prior to reopening. He also noted that the board will receive a follow‑up report on staging and costs once contractors and state agencies finalize schedules. The committee did not take a formal vote on the remediation plan during the meeting; staff framed the presentation as an operational update tied to the larger bond proposal.