The Fairmount School is the only Bangor school building set to close over asbestos concerns, Bangor’s school department said Wednesday.
“At this point in time, Fairmount is the only school that we’re looking at doing a temporary relocation for,” department spokesperson Ray Phinney said.
The city’s aging schools have been a concern for years, and Tuesday’s news that Fairmount School, the west side school serving fourth and fifth graders, will temporarily shut down next year is speeding up the process of repairing some of those buildings.
“Because all of our schools were built before 1980, we are aware that we have asbestos in all of our buildings” because of how common it used to be in building materials, Phinney said.
Fairmount School was built in 1919, making it the department’s oldest building.
Superintendent Marie Robinson announced the Fairmount School closure in a memo to teachers Tuesday that was obtained by the Bangor Daily News. She said it would be safe for students and staff to stay in the building for the rest of this school year.
The asbestos was found in the school’s ceilings while responding to a water leak, according to Robinson’s letter.
“Every time that we start construction, we do an assessment beforehand, and that’s when we discovered it,” Phinney said.
Phinney did not respond Wednesday when asked when the department first identified the asbestos at the Fairmount School.
The School Committee’s next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday night and May 13. The committee will consider a temporary school reorganization proposal for next school year during the May meeting.
“The temporary school reorganization proposal will prioritize student safety, well being, and continued high quality learning opportunities for our students,” Timothy Surrette, the School Committee chair, said.
