BUCKFIELD – SAD 39 voters will be asked June 17 if they want to spend up to $115,004 to replace the shingles on the roof of Buckfield Junior/Senior High School.

The work is needed, district officials say, because the 12-year-old shingles now on the school’s roof “have failed miserably,” according to a handout on the project.

The shingles are made out of fiberglass, “a material that has proved to be very flawed in cold weather climates,” the handout states. The shingles have deteriorated, split, cracked and have caused leaks in several places within the school, located on Route 140 in Buckfield.

The manufacturer of the shingles has agreed to reimburse the district $28,986, and it is expected that a bank loan of $93,000 will be needed. Voters in the district towns of Sumner, Hartford and Buckfield are being asked to approve borrowing for the full costs of the project to make sure the work can be done.

The district already had to replace the roof over the music room, after several thousand dollars worth of damage occurred in the room, the handout states.

“Total shingle failure is imminent and we must replace them immediately,” it continues, or risk damage to the gym floor or the hatching of mold and mildew spores inside the school.

The district has already selected Cowette’s Roofing Co. to replace the shingles with ones that come with a 50-year guarantee. The cost to local taxpayers will be about $10,000 a year over the 10-year life of the bond.

“We feel it is not only the wise decision, but the only decision that protects millions of dollars of valuable real estate,” the handout states.