Adjunct Facilities Director John Carroll (left) addresses Nobleboro residents as Nobleboro Central School Committee Chair Matt Benner listens during a special meeting at the school on Saturday, March 21. Carroll detailed the work required to ensure the affected section of the school where high levels of mold were found is safe for students. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Nobleboro Central School officials informed town residents of the estimated cost of addressing mold in the school during an open meeting on Saturday, March 21. Remediation and repair, which includes replacing mechanical systems throughout the building is expected to cost $4.4 million.
The mold was discovered while assessing the building for planned improvements.
The Nobleboro School Committee hired Jefferson Village School Facilities Director John Carroll a little over a year ago to advise on the state of the building. In the course of his inspection Carroll found that several of the school’s air handlers were not functioning and that there was evidence of water intrusion in the basement and bathrooms.
He also found “very high” carbon dioxide levels in the older section of the building and recommended that windows be opened to improve air flow, despite the weather. While carbon dioxide levels weren’t high enough to be a significant health concern, they were yet another indicator of excessive moisture.
Follow-up testing done by Senior Mechanical Designer Jeff Preble, of the Turner Group, an architecture and engineering firm based in New Hampshire, found elevated levels of mold, with the highest concentration in the basement and concerning levels in the older section of the school, which was built in 1956.
The mold found at NCS includes Aspergillus flavus as well as Stachybotrys chartarum, also known as “black mold.” Classroom mold levels in the older part of the school tested at 300-400 parts per cubic meter of air and basement levels exceeded 1,900. According to Carroll, the “safe level” is around 90 parts per cubic meter of air.
Preble said the presence of the more toxic Stachybotrys chartarum was limited to the basement.
Carroll reviewed the findings with the school committee at a special meeting on March 4. The NCS students had a remote learning day on March 6 and March 9 as building contractors ensured classrooms, learning spaces, and common areas were ready for students to return.
The entire old section of the school including the administrative offices was sealed off with industrial grade 60 mil plastic to create a negative air space and classrooms were shifted into the newer section of the school, built in the 1990s. Grades 7-8 are temporarily housed at the nearby campus of Kieve Wavus Education.
At a school committee meeting on Wednesday, March 18, Carroll presented contractor estimates for the work required in the old section of the school. That work, which included the mold remediation, new air handlers, and the cost of tearing out and replacing walls, floors, and ceilings as needed, was estimated at $2,283,933.
The estimate included $100,000 for fixture and equipment needs to replace items, including teachers’ classroom items that could not be salvaged. It also included a $300,000 contingency amount.
“You never know what you’re going to find when you open a wall,” Carroll said.
Carroll also recommended replacing the mechanical systems throughout the entire building, pointing to flaws with the boiler, which he called “super inefficient” and the type of valves on the air handlers which are prone to leaks. The current cost to replace all mechanicals is $2,173,000, which would likely include the installation of three-phase heat pumps.
Carroll said the cost of the mechanical systems may be able to be subsidized in part by grants from Efficiency Maine.
Carroll recommended fast-tracking the project based on expected cost increases, saying the price of equipment had gone up about $500,000 in the last year.
At the March 21 meeting, which was held immediately after the annual town meeting to encourage attendance, members of the Nobleboro School Committee explained the potential financial impact on taxpayers and took questions.
After Carroll described the required work as well as his additional recommendations to the assembled parents and residents, Matt Benner, chair of the Nobleboro School Committee, spoke to the scope of repairs and the plans to pay the proposed $4.4 million bill.
In addition to the remediation in the old section and the replacement of mechanicals, Benner said there is work that should be done on the new section and the building’s exterior in the next few years that would include replacing windows and siding. He said the roof is also nearing the end of its usable life. Those additional projects could add 20% to the total.
“I don’t want to put this building off any longer because it’s been neglected now for 30 years,” he said.
Nobleboro Fire Chief Aaron Bradbury took the opportunity to speak about the safety benefits of installing a sprinkler system, although he said it would add approximately $2 million.
“I’m the fire chief. I’m always going to push for sprinklers,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, now is the time.”
Benner said the committee sought advice from consulting firm Energy Efficiency Investments in order to explore all possible funding avenues. Energy Efficiency Investments recommended pursuing a lease purchase arrangement as opposed to seeking a bond for the money needed.
While bonds require a town vote and must be used in full, lease purchase arrangements only require a school committee vote and are more flexible. The lease purchase option would allow the school to act quickly and increase the likelihood that they can meet their stated goal of completing the critical parts of the work before school starts in September.
The interest rate on a lease purchase is higher but money that is not used can be repaid at any time, with a positive impact on the total interest charged.
Kerri Warms, vice president of Energy Efficiency Investments, who was on hand for the meeting noted that the first payment on a lease purchase isn’t due until 12-18 months after the contract starts, allowing time to find and apply other funding methods. In response to a question she said that there are no additional costs or fees in a lease purchase.
“We’re looking to reduce that amount by grants, by energy efficiency, by revolving renovation funds, and also by insurance,” Benner said.
Claims have already been filed with the school’s insurance companies to cover at least a portion of the mold remediation and equipment replacement.
Benner and Warms plan to apply for Maine’s School Revolving Renovation Fund, which Benner said could be up to $2 million with as much as 70% forgiven and 30% repaid as a loan. Applications open in October, with the money becoming available in 2027.
When asked by a parent about how long kids may have been exposed to mold, Benner replied that mold has likely been in the building going back years.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mold is “a fungal growth that forms and spreads on damp or decaying organic matter” and its presence in an indoor setting is an indicator of excessive moisture that should be immediately addressed. Possible mold-related health issues include respiratory symptoms, skin rashes, and developing or worsening asthma.
Bradbury addressed concerns about the elevated CO2 levels in the building. He said that unlike carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas, carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of exhaling and elevated levels are more an indicator of another issue than an issue itself.
Benner said he asked Carroll to test every occupied section of the building and that the results indicated that “any area that students and staff are currently in now is safe.”
When asked if there was a contingency plan in case the necessary work could not be completed by the fall, Benner said the committee did not yet have a plan in place but that they would know more by the end of the current school year
(Bisi Cameron Yee is a freelance photojournalist and reporter based in Nobleboro. To contact her, email cameronyeephotography@gmail.com).
