Happy August! I hope that you and your family have been enjoying the terrific Maine summer.
- The campus is active with summer facility projects and programs. Additionally, work has started on organizing the voter-approved one campus/school building project:
- Closing on the abutting property
- Signing new contract with Stephen Blatt Architects
- Architectural detail design work (bid plans)
- Development of project timelines and schedules
- Finalizing the financial plan
- Fine tuning space studies of all facilities with new grade configurations
- Conferring with the Town, MDOT, DEP, etc.
- Starting permitting process
- Communication with neighbors/abutters about the project
In this newsletter is a public notice asking for volunteers to join the project's Building Committee and Turf Field Committee. These committees are critical to assisting the architects over the next several months as finer design details are solidified in advance of construction bids being released in April 2025. If interested, please submit an application by August 22 (see details below). This project will be in the design phase for much of the 2024-25 school year, with groundbreaking on the new school building scheduled for June 2025. In addition to the general project schedule below, more details can be found on the district's website at this link: https://www.msad51.org/apps/
One of the early signals of an approaching school year is the release of bus route schedules. As we do from time to time, some routes have been adjusted in order to better serve students while also operating our routes with efficiency. A link to the revised routes can be found below in this newsletter. Speaking of buses, for safety and security purposes, both interior and exterior cameras have been installed on every bus and van in the district's fleet, with multiple visual vantage points and audio embedded. Cameras will assist in responding to disciplinary infractions that occur on our buses, along with reporting incidents where cars have passed stopped buses with lights flashing. Access to these cameras will be limited for confidentiality reasons, with only school administrators and transportation supervisory staff able to view this footage. We are hopeful that this upgrade helps to keep our students and drivers feeling safe and secure on our school buses.