BUCKFIELD – Voters in SAD 39 will decide on June 17 if the Junior/Senior High School will get a new roof.

According to Superintendent William Shuttleworth, school roof is beyond repair and in need of replacement.

Described as having the consistency of graham crackers, with leaks and cracks running 20 feet in some places, the current roof is shingled with a faulty fiberglass shingle that was popular in the late 1980s and was installed on many other schools across the state.

Shuttleworth was able to negotiate a partial settlement with the now defunct company that manufactured the shingles. The district is now looking at the necessity of borrowing up to $100,000 over 10 years to put 50-year-warrantee shingles on the roof at a low interest rate.

This would put the annual cost to the district at about $10,000.

“We have no choice but to replace these shingles,” Larry Brown, chairperson of the Building Committee said. “We have a $15 million piece of real estate and it must be protected with a safe and secure roof.”

If voters in the district, including Buckfield, Sumner and Hartford, support the referendum, the roof project would likely begin over the summer.