Milton voters Tuesday approved a $3.5 million bond to cover repairs and construction related to a mold infestation in the town elementary school. The vote was 445-190 in favor of the work. Bonds for wood burning heating units at the elementary and high schools also won easy approval from voters. Each unit would cost $1.4 million. Voters approved the wood heat, 431-203 for the elementary school and 431-204 for the high school, Town Clerk John Cushing said.
The town's taxpayers won't pay for the entire cost of the projects. The town is eligible for $1,050,000 in state aid for the elementary school mold spending. The state will cover 90 percent of the wood heat project's costs, leaving Milton taxpayers to pay about $280,000 for the new heating units.
School Board Chairman Doug Stout was pleased with the voting outcome. "It looks like the articles passed by a two to one margin," he said. "If we take the time to explain to our voters what needs to be done and come to them with the facts, they ultimately will do the right thing."
For the owner of a $200,000 property in Milton, taxes will rise by about $47 next year now that the bonds have been approved, Stout said. People eligible for income sensitivity tax breaks under state education financing laws would pay less than the $47, Stout noted.
A severe mold infestation surfaced earlier this year at the town's elementary school. Workers had to gut portions of the building, extensively clean the structure and rebuild classrooms and offices. The bond that voters approved Tuesday will pay for that work, Stout said.
This isn't the end of it, Stout cautioned. The school district must design some drainage and ventilation improvements at the school to prevent mold problems from recurring. That means more bills for the school district, though Stout said nobody has yet determined how much the new work would cost.
The school district wants to convert the heating systems in the schools from the current gas and oil to wood chips because administrators think the move will save a lot of money, Stout said.
Heating costs could drop by $60,000 to $100,000 per year after the new heating system is installed, Stout said. With the state reimbursement, it won't take long for Milton to recoup the money it will spend on installing the new heating systems, Stout said.
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