OXFORD – Eight weeks is not a lot of time for SAD 17 Facilities Manager David Marshall and his maintenance crew to get 642,130 square feet of buildings and 179 acres ready for the new school year.

“There’s a lot of work in getting this ready,” Marshall told the board of directors at its meeting this week.

From replacing roofs, to moving portable classrooms, ordering supplies and laying wood chips on school playgrounds, Marshall said all of it had to be done during summer vacation.

“Every school got something done,” he said.

The oldest school building is the 1845 Streaked Mountain School and the newest is Paris Elementary School, built in 2006. The district is also responsible for the maintenance of the Fox School in Paris, which is now leased to a private school.

At Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, the band room was carpeted. At the Hebron Elementary School, wood chips were placed on the playground. Sidewalk work was completed at the Otisfield Elementary School, and the Rowe Elementary School in Norway had two classrooms revamped. The Waterford Elementary School had roof repairs done.

One of the largest projects was at Oxford Hills Middle School campuses in Paris and Oxford. The seven portable classroom units in Paris were sold and moved, and the Oxford building was renovated into classrooms to relieve overcrowding in Paris.

In addition to the maintenance work, Marshall said all sorts of inspections had to be conducted on items such as elevators, underground tanks, bleachers, sprinkler system, burglar alarms and heating and ventilation systems.

“Maintenance never stops,” he said.

ldixon@sunjournal.com