FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Christian Elkington updated the board of directors Tuesday about the ongoing gymnasium leak at Mt. Blue Middle School.

“We still don’t know a definitive reason for the breakdown of the system,” Elkington said. “We do know there was a leak caused by rust, a very small pinhole leak, but we don’t have a definitive answer on why the system didn’t report that the water was going through and that the sprinklers, in theory, had been turned on in the gym.”

Superintendent Christian Elkington and Assistant Superintendent Monique Poulin stand Wednesday at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon on the first day of classes. On Tuesday night, Elkington updated the Regional School Unit 9 board of directors on ongoing challenges and facility repairs. Rebecca Richard/Franklin Journal

Elkington said there are several theories being considered, including the possibility that the water level did not fully fill the pipes, preventing the sprinkler system from activating properly. “If only an inch and a half or two inches of the pipe filled with water, then the flange holding back the water might not have gone all the way up.”

He expressed concerns about the system’s failure to alert the school’s security company, Norris, in a timely manner. “We started getting messages that the system was on about eight to 10 hours after the initial water started to go through the system,” he said.

Elkington praised the response from the district’s insurance company, which has been supportive throughout the situation. “The insurance company has been great. They were there Sunday when this was happening, in the afternoon,” he said. “They’ve said, ‘Do what you need to do. We know it’s a school, do what you need to do.’”

Regarding the next steps, Elkington mentioned that the demolition of damaged materials has costs estimated at around $38,000. “That’s just to take all the damaged materials and pieces out of there,” he said. “We’re now looking at the rebuild, and we have reached out to three companies, but only one has gotten back to us so far.”

Also, Elkington mentioned ongoing air quality concerns in the gym and basement areas. “We have plastic up because there were air quality issues,” he said. “Before we would put anybody back in there, we would have an independent contractor come in and recheck the air.”

Mt. Blue Middle School Principal James Black highlighted the efforts of the middle school staff in adapting to the situation. “Over the last five or six days, a shout-out to middle school staff, everybody has come together,” he said. “We’ve managed to utilize different spaces, and moved some folks to high school offices. It is going to be a little cramped, but fine.”

Elkington further informed the board about the possibility of needing a full renovation of the gym floor, which could cost up to $300,000. “That is maple on there, and there’s a lot of work that has to go along with that,” he said.

In response to a question from the board about the age of the floor, Elkington said, “We are not sure, it may be the original floor, we don’t know. It is an older building.” He added that the insurance company is sending an engineer to examine the fire suppression system and that the rest of the system is still functioning.

Chairperson Dorothy “Dee” Robinson expressed hope for positive updates in the future. “We look forward to the updates and hope they are good ones,” she said.

The next steps will involve more inspections, possible repairs, and continued efforts to ensure the safety and functionality of the school facilities.

In other business, Elkington provided an update in an email sent earlier on the superintendent’s office move to a new location on Main Street in Farmington.

“I am happy to say that the space we were using at Mount Blue Campus is now being used to support student programming in multiple ways,” he wrote. “We have found that being available to people on Main Street in Farmington has reduced visitors to Mount Blue Campus, thus improving safety. It’s also easier for staff, parents, community members, and vendors to come and meet with us.”

Elkington also said the start of the school year was a success, highlighting the preparation and planning that went into the first two days. “I think the first two days were well planned,” he said.