WOODSTOCK — Woodstock selectmen met last week with one of their SAD 44 board members regarding concerns about the Woodstock Elementary School they had expressed last month.

Chairman Ron Deegan, who in the past served as SAD 44’s building and grounds supervisor, last month shared photos he had taken of the nearly 40-year-old school that showed the wood fascia boards were rotting.

He said he didn’t want to see, down the road, the School Board decide to close the school due to maintenance issues. The selectmen asked for a meeting with the town’s school directors to get an update on the maintenance plans.

Director Bryan Kendall attended the selectboard meeting.

Deegan said the town’s mil rate had risen this year by 1.5 mils, due to a combination of county tax increase, costs of weather road washouts, and the school budget. He said he wanted to make sure the town was getting its money’s worth from the district and that funds would go to maintain WES.

He noted the fascia board problems, and said it was an indication that the roof could be leaking or there were structural problems. While he was building and grounds supervisor a roofing company assessed WES annually and kept up a maintenance schedule, he said.

Deegan said at the time he left his position, WES roof work was on a list for work to be done.

“Three years out, there are issues that need to be addressed right away,” he said.

Kendall, who is the general manager of the Summit Hotel at Sunday River Resort, said he knows building maintenance through his job. He also serves on the SAD 44 board’s Facilities and Grounds Committee, as does fellow Woodstock director Marcy Winslow.

He said a roofing company has come every year since and has done patching jobs at WES. While that doesn’t fully address the issues, he said, it provides some maintenance until the roof can be replaced.

And, Kendall noted, WES “isn’t the only aging building in the district right now,” citing particularly the 56-year-old Telstar complex. “Telstar has lots of needs,” he said.

Deegan and Selectman Jeff Campbell reiterated that maintenance should not be a factor in any future discussion by SAD 44 about potential WES closure.

Deegan said he was reassured by Kendall’s background and presence on the district building committee and hoped it would bode well for future attention to WES maintenance.

In other business at the meeting, selectmen voted to increase the hourly pay for town firefighters from $17 to $20.

Town Manager Vern Maxfield reported that the town would have complete fiber optic coverage by the end of next year, as a result of the $130,000 in federal funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

He also said that about 60 percent of property taxes have been paid so far this year.

The board meets next at 5 p.m.Dec. 17.