CARIBOU, Maine — RSU 39 will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in Caribou Performing Arts Center, to discuss the Caribou Community School construction project as well as the need for improvements to Caribou High School athletic facilities.
RSU 39 Superintendent Doak said the meeting will include a question and answer period during which members of the public can ask school officials questions about these topics. Doak said RSU 39 officials also will distribute a card on which attendees who may be uncomfortable asking a question in public may write their inquiries.
Doak will be joined by RSU 39 Assistant Superintendent Jane McCall and RSU 39 Business Manager Mark Bouchard during the new school portion of the meeting, which will include photos of the work being done on the new pre-K-eight school, slated for completion in August 2020.
“We’ll show pictures inside the building of the heating system in the floor, and bring people up to speed on what parts of the project are ahead of schedule and what parts are behind schedule,” he said. “We will also show the colors we’ve chosen for the school and some of the furniture we’ve picked out.”
During the second portion, Doak and Caribou High School Athletic Director Evan Graves will discuss the eventual need to replace athletic facilities at Caribou High School. The track, for example, is 22 years old, and Doak said the average life expectancy for most tracks is 18 years. They will also discuss the possibility of creating an artificial turf soccer field.
Doak said Presque Isle is the only other municipality with an artificial turf field, and that both regional and state soccer championships need to be held on turf fields.
He said that while a turf field costs more upfront, it may save the administration money in the long run because grass fields require maintenance, mowing, grass seed and water.
Doak said the administration is closely watching other schools in the state, such as Mt. Ararat, in order to determine the most cost-effective way of renovating the Caribou athletic facilities.
“Mt. Ararat is building a brand new school and they’re getting a turf soccer field and track,” he said. “We’re looking at about a million and a half for costs, and we’re hoping to have some numbers for money saved over time with turf fields during the Dec. 5 meeting.”
Additionally, Doak and Graves will discuss replacing the hot top behind the school, which Doak said is “very rough and dangerous,” and also the possibility of tearing down and replacing a storage building used for athletics.
The Superintendent said that no money for these projects will be added into next year’s budget, but that they may come up during the following year.
“We want to be transparent and upfront with taxpayers,” he said. “This is not something they’ll see in next year’s budget, but we want them to be aware of this so everyone is on the same page. The track has been put off for years, but at some point we do have to reinvest and put it in the budget because the track sees a lot of use from the community and during city events.”
