Groton ― The aging roof of the Charles Barnum Discovery Magnet School is slated to be replaced over the summer.

The elementary school’s leaky roof is beyond its 20-year life expectancy, according to Sam Kilpatrick, facilities director at Groton Public Schools. He said the maintenance staff has done great work in maintaining the roof, but it is now time to replace it.

The new roof will not have solar panels, though they may be added at a later date, said Kilpatrick. The addition of solar panels would require the Board of Education to own and maintain the panels in the utility zone where the school is located.

Solar panels recently were installed at no cost to the school district at Mystic River Magnet School and Groton Middle School. The school district signed an agreement with the Connecticut Green Bank to purchase the discounted solar energy, and the Connecticut Green Bank owns, operates and maintains the panels. The district anticipates $40,000 in annual energy savings from the solar panels.

However, the Connecticut Green Bank program is only available to Eversource and United Illuminating customers, not to customers of Groton Utilities, where the Charles Barnum School is located.

City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick, the chair of the Groton Utilities Commission, explained that Groton Utilities embraces solar, but the challenge is that Groton Utilities’ rates are so much lower than Eversource’s that, generally speaking, the return on investment takes longer than the average solar panels’ 20-year shelf life.

He said Groton Utilities is looking to roll out next year an incentive program for solar panels.

The roof replacement is estimated to cost just under $1 million, said Kilpatrick. The town’s fiscal year 2023 budget set aside $1 million for the project.

Kilpatrick said the hope is to go out to bid before the new year in anticipation of completing the Charles Barnum roof replacement project in the summer of 2025.

The Town Council this month authorized the Board of Education to apply for a state grant, which would reimburse the town for 47.5% of the project costs, and to establish a Permanent School Building Committee for the project.

k.drelich@theday.com