Syntegix safety system, insurance and fuel costs drive maintenance pressure in RSU 22 budget review

District maintenance and safety costs were a focal point of the April 14 RSU 22 budget review as administrators described several line-item pressures and a recurring safety-system commitment.

Staff explained Syntegix, a badge-based safety system the district implemented in the previous fall, and said the contract represents a five-year commitment with annualized costs now appearing in the maintenance/security article. "Syntegix is this badge right here'it's the white badge with a little circular button... I can push that three times, and that's more of a local alarm... and then if I continue to push it eight times, that will then, notify EMS and they will report here that's connected to Waldo County dispatch and Penobscot County dispatch," Nick said in a demonstration. Staff estimated Syntegix-related supplies and annual fees at about $78,000 in the current year (year two of five), which contributes to an overall security/contracted-services line.

Separately, staff said insurance premiums rose because replacement-cost valuations and a COVID-era spike in material prices have not returned to pre-pandemic levels; the district's broker advised greater detail in property valuations (e.g., bleacher counts), which pushed a roughly $65,000 adjustment into the maintenance/insurance lines. Fuel (heating oil and propane) projections were marked up as staff said propane pricing is not yet locked and heating-oil usage was extrapolated and increased by 30% in one estimate.

Maintenance lead Mister Booth told the board large paving projects will be deferred because contractor prices are unavailable or prohibitively high (estimated roughly double prior costs); small targeted repairs will proceed and three cafeteria doors will be replaced to address inspection findings. He also described supply inflation (a projected 30% increase in a common trash-bag SKU) and an uptick in landfill and trucking costs, which will push trash-hauling lines higher.

Staff clarified stormwater/water-sewer increases at McGraw reflect facility configuration (a toilet in every classroom) plus after-school programming use. They also explained that some historical "zeros" in school-level non-cap custodial lines reflected prior mis-coding of expenditures and that this year's budget attempts to allocate costs into correct school lines.

Board members asked whether cooperative purchasing or bidding would mitigate propane or trash costs; staff noted the district participates in purchasing partnerships (WB Mason, CES) and sometimes accepts multiple vendors for the best price but cautioned that landfill pass-throughs limit short-term savings. The resource-officer (SRO) arrangements were also detailed: the district splits SRO costs with the town of Hampden for one officer and with Waldo County for Winterport schools, and staff emphasized that SRO costs are separate from the Syntegix security line.

Next steps: staff will reconcile account numbers and circulate revised summary sheets before the April 30 meeting, and the board scheduled an April 30 mill-rate presentation and a review of reserve-account allocations.