KINGFIELD – With only three towns reporting at 11 p.m. Tuesday, an MSAD 58 referendum seeking approval to spend an additional $150,000 for construction to Stratton School was passing.
Strong residents voted to allow spending 234-156, Eustis voters approved the measure 145-55, and Avon voters approved the budget increase 84-54. Superintendent Quenten Clark said Tuesday evening that although he hopes the referendum will pass, he has “other things up my sleeve” if it does not.
District voters originally approved spending up to $950,000 on the project at a referendum in May, but just before R&R Construction of Lewiston began the addition this fall, Hurricane Katrina hit. According to Superintendent Quenten Clark, the hike in transportation costs brought on by the hurricane became apparent just days before the superintendent met with R&R representatives to complete prices for the project.
Clark said that while in previous years he had been able to negotiate down from the usually too-high bid price to the district’s budget price by removing items like offices, storage spaces, and awnings from architecture plans, when he met with R&R representatives this September he was unable to do so.
Unable to lower construction costs, Clark petitioned the school board for approval to add $150,000 to the Stratton School construction budget this September.
“It doesn’t make any sense to (put) it off for a couple of years in the hopes that prices would drop,” Clark said.
Clark said Tuesday evening he had high hopes the measure would pass. “The communities always support the schools the communities don’t have a lot of money, but what they do have is kids, and they take care of their kids,” he said.
If it does not, he said, construction will go forward. The district will simply have to modify its 2005-2006 budget, Clark said. One way to do so, he added, would be to stop buying heating oil in advance. That measure would probably end costing the district, in the long run, he said.
Results from the other three towns were not available as of 10:30 pm.
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