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Sharon voters OK school referendum

SHARON — Work could start yet this spring on a new roof at Sharon Community School.

Other, less immediate upgrades will take place in the summer of 2011, Administrator Steve Huebbe said.

Voters on Tuesday night soundly passed a $5.98 million referendum for improvements at the school.

“The school board, as guardians of the district, needs to follow through with this directive and continue plans to maintain the school,” Huebbe said.

The school board in February decided to ask voters for permission to take out a loan for security and energy efficiency upgrades at the school.

Plans include repairs to the school’s roof and exterior, reconfiguring the entrance and replacing the original wood floors in the portion of the school that was built in 1935.

Workers will build handicapped-accessible bathrooms and make other accessibility improvements.

Plans also include replacing windows and making other efficiency upgrades, including replacing the boiler with one that heats with hot water rather than steam. The new boiler would be digitally controlled, which would add efficiency.

Engineers will draw plans right away, and work on the roof could start soon, Huebbe said. Other work could take place late this summer or early in the summer of 2011, Huebbe said.

Huebbe said the results send a strong message to the school board about how the community wants to maintain the school.

“That is a significant margin,” Huebbe said. “The board was asking a great deal of a community this size.”