Bangor School District’s new elementary school will be ready when school starts Sept. 2.

Superintendent Roger Foegen assured the school board at its Aug. 20 meeting that the building will be ready after a hectic but productive summer of construction.

“Functionally, we’ll be able to start on time,” Foegen said. “As with any project of this size, there are some little odds and ends left over to do — things like adjusting doors, some painting and other things. But that’s to be expected. For the most part, it’s all come together.”

Foegen reminded the board that the addition has come a long way in a short time. “When you stop and think about it, we didn’t even break ground until after the 4th of July last year — and this was a major project,” he said.

The community will get the chance to see the new digs at an open house scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21, beginning at 1 p.m. Since that date is just a few weeks off, Foegen and elementary school Principal Lois Meinking asked for direction from the board about the open house.

The board decided that the dedication be relatively short and the affair itself be informal — with refreshments, a continuous slide show and tours of the building — so that as many community members as possible will feel comfortable attending.

In other news, Foegen reported that the state inspection of the district’s school buses was complete and that any necessary repairs have been or are about to be completed. Recently, two parked buses were vandalized and had some windows broken out. Fortunately, they were buses that are not used regularly and that the district was considering selling.

Bus # 93 had been put up for sale earlier this summer. The board approved its sale to John Hundt for $700 after Foegen reported that Hundt’s bid was the only one he’d received and that his only other option was to sell the bus to a scrap company.

Goals approved

The board also approved four major goals for the 2008-2009 school year. They are:

1) Implement and evaluate the collaborative 4-year-old kindergarten program.

2) approve the district’s Safety Plan and continue to explore ways to promote a safe school environment.

3) study district facility usage (with a special emphasis on the disposition of the old high school).

4) approve revised curriculum in the areas of family and consumer education, technical education and math.

Safety concern

The board heard from parent Ken Thompson, who raised what he felt was a safety issue in the school.

After volunteering in Mitch Lown’s tech education class last semester, Thompson told the board he believed there was a safety issue with the welding booths. He said they needed to be extended out slightly and have curtains put up to prevent flash burns.

Thompson said he would be willing to come in and help fix the booths as part of a class project. He also wondered if there were any way to get better welding machines and materials for the students and suggested some options for the district. Board president Rod Hundt thanked Thompson for taking the time to come in and told him the board would be consultig with Lown about the situation.

Other business

In other actions taken last Wednesday the board:

Approved an asbestos abatment study for the old high school after Foegen reported the cost would be under $1,500.

Learned from school psycholigist Kathy Carson that her trip to the National Association of School Psychologists meeting in Atlantic City earlier this summer was instructive and helpful, particularly in dealing with new approaches to problems in the areas of homework completion and electronic bullying.

Approved a vision statement for the 4-year-old kindergarten program.

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