BUCKFIELD – SAD 39 directors heard reports on the ongoing installation of a new heating system Wednesday and approved a bank loan to pay for it.

Reports from Superintendent Richard Colpitts and Harford-Sumner Elementary School Principal Lucy Johnson assured board members that installation of the heating system is progressing well. A new broiler was installed in the school in December. According to a written report from Johnson, work is being done with “minimal interruption to the school.”

Colpitts reported that expanded baseboard heating units are being installed in each classroom, with most of the classroom work done during school vacation.

Colpitts asked the board to approve a revenue anticipation note from Franklin Savings Bank in order to pay for the project. Voters have approved a bond for the project, but Colpitts said it will take a few months for the state bond bank to issue the money.

“In the meantime, we owe the vendor. We owe Honeywell some money for doing the job,” he said.

Franklin Savings Bank and Banknorth were asked for interest rates on a loan of $98,780. Colpitts said Banknorth quoted a lower rate than Franklin, 4.25 percent compared to Franklin’s 4.3 percent. Banknorth, however, required a legal opinion to verify that the school had followed correct procedures in getting the loan.

“That cost, of that legal opinion, would have exceeded the cost of the interest over a six-month period of time,” Colpitts said. “Almost double.”

He therefore recommended that the board accept Franklin’s offer.

The board voted unanimously to approve the note from Franklin Savings Bank.

Colpitts’ report also stated that he has attended a session sponsored by the state’s commissioner of education on the governor’s tax relief measure.

“If passed by the Jan. 20 deadline,” Colpitts wrote, the measure is likely to provide additional funding for SAD 39. He noted that if the governor’s proposal does not pass, another referendum in June will be required.

“I can’t begin to tell you how devastating it would be to our budget process to have to wait until June to learn how much state funding will be available,” he wrote.

Board member Stacy Raymond reported that the Budget Committee will soon ask Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner for representatives on the committee.

Six executive sessions were held during the meeting, including sessions for the evaluation of the high school and elementary school principals and contract discussions with the superintendent.