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03/07/2008

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Come next fall at the latest air at China Middle School should be fresh and flowing, while at Vassalboro Community School the windows should be a breeze to open.

Such is the expected impact of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in state funding that Union 52 received Tuesday evening on behalf of the two schools.

Maintenance and Grounds Supervisor Shelley Phillips said the money comes through the Department of Education's revolving-renovation fund.

The state awarded $525,000 to China Middle School to install a modern ventilation system for the building. To replace its windows, Vassalboro Community School received $222,500, Union 52 Assistant Superintendent Gary Smith said.

Smith said the funding is a combination of an outright grant and a no-interest loan payable over five years.

Phillips said the state money will help solve major problems at both schools.

"Up in China," she said, "the problem is there is no fresh air that comes into the building other than by opening a window. And we all know that is not good."

Phillips said the issue at Vassalboro Community School was wooden window frames.

What happened, she said, is those frames would tend to swell or contracts, making windows difficult to open or close and thus making them a poor option as a means of emergency egress from the building.

The wood frames also began to rot and attract mold, creating a public health concern, she said.

Phillips said the state money should enable the school to replace all its windows.

Smith anticipates that work on both projects should begin as soon as children are out for summer vacation -- and possibly sooner.

The revolving-renovation fund has been extremely beneficial to Union 52. Smith said the just completed $9 million renovation of Winslow High School included $3 million in such funds.

He said only about $1.1 million of that money had to be repaid to the state. In this case, however, Union 52 was permitted to stretch the repayment over 10 years.

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com

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