News Feature
Originally published in
Castine Patriot, November 10, 2022
Adams School awarded grant for electric bus
Up to $350,000 for purchase
by David Avery
At the school board meeting November 2, Superintendent Reg Ruhlin announced that Adams School has been selected to receive a grant to purchase an electric school bus.
The grant is a rebate program through which the town would be reimbursed for money spent up to $350,000. It also includes $20,000 for charging infrastructure, according to Ruhlin.
The federal dollars for Clean School Buses are being made available through the Environmental Protection Agency.
The board voted 3-0 to move forward. Ruhlin said, because of the way the program is structured, there is no obligation or application, but if the town decides to purchase a clean bus, the money will be reimbursed by the federal government.
Other grants were also announced by Principal Fred Cole. The money from the Castine Education Foundation totaled more than $3,000 for classroom equipment and books.
Calculators, novels, a drum set, bird houses and bird observation stations are all to be purchased with the grant money, according to Cole.
In addition, the school will receive $5,000 for a LEGO robotics lab. The grant application was spearheaded by Union 93 Curriculum Coordinator Dawn McLaughlin.
The board also reviewed and updated some goals for the 2022-2023 school years, as well as the non-resident student policy. The latter policy will be voted on in December.
Cole also reported that several teachers have received training in the Eureka Math curriculum that the school has adopted. Cole said he will complete the administrator portion of the training too.
The principal gave rave reviews of the soccer season and coaches Lisa Read and Andrew Chung. “I was especially impressed with our team’s effort and composure,” he said, explaining that the young team was challenged by a Bay School team of seventh and eighth graders in the championship game.
The winter sports schedule was discussed. Keenan Schaeffer was nominated to be the basketball coach for up to three teams. The board approved 3-0. The board also authorized Cole to hire a second coach.
The lone bid of David Hatch to plow the school for the winter was accepted by the board at $65 per event.
The superintendent’s report included a statement of enrollment as of October 1 at Adams School. Forty-nine students are enrolled full-time, and 11 homeschoolers use school services partially. The school also has seven tuition-paying students. In addition, Castine sends 16 high school students to George Stevens Academy and others to Bucksport, John Bapst, Mount Desert Island, and Blue Hill Harbor School.
