Hancock Public Schools seeking millage for building repairs, efficiency upgrades

HANCOCK — While Hancock Public Schools continues to place student safety as a top priority, one area of concern that will need future attention is the maintenance of existing building systems. The district is seeking a millage for the sinking school fund that would be applied to building repairs and efficiency upgrades.

Safety training for staff and limiting building access are some recent adjustments to a proactive approach that Hancock public schools has taken to ensure the safety of it’s children. As the district is planing for the future of its students, the buildings themselves also need some attention.

“We have a roof that needs to be attended to, in this complex, the high school and middle school complex. We have a roof at Barkell Elementary that needs to be attended to. We want to upgrade our heating system, and also look at other infrastructural safety things such as cameras and stuff like that which are hot button topics right now,” said Superintendent Kipp Beaudoin.

Beaudoin says that implementation of the millage now will ensure that the district is prepared for these projects when the time comes to make necessary repairs.

“The advantage to the sinking fund is that, if you think of it terms as a savings account, the sinking fund allows us to put money from the taxpayers in the bank and use it to do the projected building projects as opposed to doing a referendum and asking for a bond,” said Beaudoin.

Currently, the high school and middle school rubber membrane is showing signs of wear and has had several patches to repair a few minor leaks. OHM senior project manager, Lou Meyette says that these fixes are not a long term solution, and with continued exposure to Ultra Violet rays produced by sunlight, along with normal settling of the building, replacement of the surface us inevitable.

The proposed $260,000 millage will be on the August ballot and would also provision for a few other upgrades as well. Those include replacing some areas of carpeting where excessive foot traffic is taking it’s toll on the floor, the upgrade of parking lot light bulbs would also be included, replacing the halogen lamps with energy efficient LEDs, ultimately saving the district and it’s taxpayers money in the long run.

“I really cannot stress enough the support we’ve had from key people in the community and this endeavor so far. We look forward to continued support,” said Beaudoin.