By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

OXFORD – SAD 17 has completed the removal of lead-based paint from the exterior windows at Guy E. Rowe Elementary School and the district will apply for state reimbursement for the cost, Superintendent Mark Eastman said Monday.

Reimbursement will be sought under the state’s Revolving Renovation Fund Grant program, which helps fund building renovation projects in Maine schools.

The total cost of the removal was about $15,000 and the district accrued the cost. At its regular meeting Monday, the board of directors was expected to authorize Eastman to apply for the reimbursement.

If the application is approved, the district will be reimbursed about 50 percent by a grant and the remainder will be covered by a no-interest loan, which the district will repay, Eastman said.

“If there is a budget impact, it would be small, and we would probably address it through contingency (funds),” he said.

The project’s cost had not been accounted for in the current fiscal-year budget. Rather, the district had planned to paint over the lead-based material because long-range plans called for the windows to be completely removed and replaced. “It made sense for us to do that if we could, because the windows were going to be removed,” Eastman said.

Regulations covering lead-based paint allow for the material to be painted over if there is not excessive flaking.

However an inspection last summer showed the paint was flaking excessively, so the decision was made to remove it, he said. “It was in worse condition than when we looked at it a year ago,” he said. “It was identified as an issue we had to address.”

The lead-based paint was at least 20 years old. The work was performed in late summer and early fall.

Eastman said the board also planned to discuss options to help save money on heating oil and diesel fuel when it met Monday evening. In the short term, temperature settings may be set back in the schools, he said.

Eastman said bus runs also will be examined as a possible way to save money. One option may be to cut back on the number of co-curricular bus runs, he added. “Cutting back on that is a possibility we will discuss between seasons,” he said.