What To Do With The Fairmount School? Bangor School Committee Delays Vote To Hear Ideas

The Bangor School Committee met on Wednesday evening in the Bangor City Hall Chambers to address the issue of what to do with the Fairmount School.

At the end of April, the Bangor School Department announced that asbestos had been discovered at the school while crews were preparing to repair the roof.

The administration quickly issued a statement saying there were no immediate health concerns for students or staff to finish out the rest of this year, but there would be potential for issues going forward. They presented an idea to relocate the students and staff at Fairmount to a separate location and possibly consolidate schools in the district.

Read More: Asbestos Concerns At Fairmount School In Bangor Prompt Relocation

This prompted immediate and immense feedback from the community, specifically parents of kids in the Bangor School District at Fairmount, J.F. Doughty School, and the William S. Cohen School.

Parents expressed concerns about what many commented on at the meeting as a "lack of transparency" from Bangor School Department leadership, and a lack of trust in the communication surrounding how the proposal to relocate and possibly consolidate the schools was put together.

At the top of the meeting, the Committee Chair and members decided unanimously to table taking any kind of vote on the future until after some "listening sessions" could be held for the community to ask questions and share ideas and suggestions on alternative plans.

One by one, parents took to the podium during the public comment section, with impassioned pleas for the school board to share the data they're using to come up with the options. One parent, who also happens to be a lawyer, said that there was such a lack of information being disclosed, even after numerous requests, that parents were resorting to utilizing the Freedom of Information Act to acquire it.

There were sentiments of gratitude towards teachers, who are also in a state of limbo at the moment, and cannot make plans for next year because they don't know where they'll be or if they will still have a position.

There were also opinions shared by several who spoke about what they say is the importance of addressing concerns about busing, extracurricular activities, sports, music programs, and special education opportunities.

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During the meeting, Bangor's Superintendent, Dr. Marie Robinson, conveyed her appreciation for the comments the committee has received and for the input and feedback, and thanked her staff and administration for their patience and for their work in developing a "temporary" plan for next year. She said this has been an unexpected challenge for everyone, and they are working on a rather short timeline.

The Committee Chair, Tim Surette, said that ultimately, the committee would be taking the constructive feedback and suggestions into account, but that there were roughly 100 days until school starts back up again, so a plan would need to be decided upon within the next couple of weeks. He said the two most important criteria used to determine the final decision were the safety of the staff and students, and where they can maintain high-quality educational opportunities.

According to the Bangor School Department's Website, two listening sessions have been scheduled for next Monday, May 18th. One will be held at the James F. Doughty School from 5 PM to 6 PM, and then another over at the William S. Cohen School right after that, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

You can check out the video of Wednesday's School Committee Meeting by clicking here.