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School Board Meeting
Tuesday, March 9th at 7:00pm
March 9th - 7:00pm - Regular School Board Meeting at Valley High School
Fun Friday
Valley Spirit
Construction
Building Improvements
Dear Parents, Students, and Community Members,
I am writing to update you regarding the Valley renovation project. This loan/grant was submitted in September 2019 to the Department of Education. The application was approved in January 2020. The total amount requested in the application was $700,492. Last July the community members voted through the referendum process to approve the project which includes a 10-year interest free loan for $416,022 and $284,470 as a grant. The district has been working their way through the state required bid process throughout the fall and early winter of this school year. The bids were due Feb 22, 2021.
The construction bids for the renovation project at Valley were opened on Feb 23, 2021. The district received bids from 3 general contractors. Due to the rising costs of building materials, a 45% increase since the loan/grant application was submitted in Sept 2019, Wentworth Engineering had requested a base bid that included the windows in the academic wing and the administrative wing at Valley. The base bid is the replacement of 84 windows and new insulation and siding in these areas. After the base bid the project was divided into 13 smaller projects with a required bid for each project. The Board Building and Grounds Committee met yesterday. They opened and reviewed the bids. Last evening the board met to discuss, review, and approve the contract. The low bidder was Nichols Construction from Bangor with a base bid of $564,765. The board voted to accept the low bid from Nichols for the replacement and renovation of the academic and administrative wings, (base bid $564,765) and the east wall of the gymnasium (the wall behind the stage that faces the athletic fields) at a cost of $50,746. The district is required to hold back 8-10% of the project as a contingent fund, approximately $67,000. If this fund is not used completing the base bid and the east wall of the gymnasium the board is hoping to use the funds to replace exterior doors. The board will be looking to complete the total project using other funding sources. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at Sandra.macarthur@sad13.org or 672-5502. Remember this is a great project even with the scaled back scope. The project will still provide a huge upgrade to our facilities that will have a positive impact on our students and staff.
Sincerely,
Sandra MacArthur
Superintendent of Schools
Early Pick up
Important Information
Good morning,
Parents have been arriving early for afternoon pick-ups at Valley and having their students leave the building with students who walk home. This is creating a dangerous situation with our walking students navigating traffic as they leave the building.
If you are picking your student up after school, please plan to arrive at 2:05 PM. If you arrive before walking students and the busses have left, please wait in line on the road before the parking lot and leave the walkway clear. As soon as busses have left, we will work through the line of parents as quickly as possible. This is usually complete by 2:15 PM.
We will do the best we can to dismiss students efficiently and not make you wait, but our priority is getting everyone home safely. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Jim Tyler
Good News!!
From Sandra MacArthur, Superintendent
Good News!! Somerset County has returned to a Green designation for COVID-19. This means that the county’s new case rate and positivity rate have fallen below the statewide average, so Somerset county is no longer categorized as yellow. The district will be able to offer after school activities for students due to the move to Green. This is so important for our students physical and emotional well-being.
You, the community members, parents, staff, and students have made this happen by wearing face coverings, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings. We appreciate all that you have done and need to ask you to continue to wear your face coverings, social distance and avoid large gatherings to allow MSAD 13 to continue to provide in person learning and after school activities for our students. This is not an easy task during the holiday season and we truly appreciate your support during these difficult times. Thank you for all that you are doing.
Latest District COVID-19 Guidelines
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