FARMINGTON – An early October surprise inspection of SAD 9 by the Bureau of Labor Standards turned up 34 violations, costing the district $2,100 in fines.

Many of those citations have been corrected, SAD 9 facilities director David Gould said, and the district is appealing the fines.

The fines are levied for infractions that impact employee safety, not student safety, Superintendent Michael Cormier explained.

“This isn’t a real serious list,” Gould said.

Collecting the most citations was the district’s bus garage, which was cited eight times for everything from not having a guard on a large air compressor, which netted a $300 fine, to having no program for use of respirators in the spray booth, which cost $750.

Both the Mount Blue Middle School and the aged W.G. Mallett School received six citations apiece; Foster Tech and Mount Blue High School picked up four each and Academy Hill School collected two citations.

A $750 fine came from machine guarding not provided to protect operators and other employees from hazards at Foster Tech. The remaining $300 fine was for an infraction at the Mallett School for the presence of asbestos in the old coal boiler in the boiler room. That problem was fixed in November, Gould said.

The Weld Elementary School, Cascade Brook School, Cushing School and the Central Maintenance Shop each chocked up one citation.

The 10-year-old Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon was the only school that did not get cited.

While years ago the labor department’s workplace safety and health division put the focus on industrial facilities, in the past few years the pressure has been on schools more so than ever to offer safe job sites.

Gould said he has until Dec. 30 to correct the citations and will then have the chance to negotiate with the state to get the fines waived.

SAD 9 was one of a handful of districts that received surprise visits from inspectors. Cormier said they are helpful to the district to improve safety for all.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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