School board approves FY27 facility contracts after lengthy debate over waste vendors and sustainability
June 19, 2026 | Oyster River Coop School District, School Districts, New Hampshire
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The Oyster River Coop School District board approved a set of facility bids for fiscal year 2027 on June 17 after staff presented options and costs for painting, waste services, and high-school exterior masonry work.
Facilities staff said the painting contract drew a single low bidder after two solicitations and recommended awarding the work to that sole responsive contractor. The largest procurement discussion centered on waste-disposal, recycling, and composting services. Five vendors responded (Casella, Waste Management, Win Waste, Troiano Waste, and Mr. Fox Composting). When evaluating combinations of fixed fees, per‑ton hauling and compactor trips, and the composting option, staff said Troiano plus Mr. Fox emerged as the apparent low-cost approach in aggregate. Waste Management’s bid placed material at the Turnkey landfill in Rochester, which participates in a methane capture pipeline benefiting UNH; Troiano’s material would be handled via EcoMaine’s waste-to-energy process.
Board members and staff framed the procurement as a trade-off among lowest cost, landfill minimization, local business relationships, and emissions from waste-to-energy facilities. Several board members said they value local and smaller vendors and raised uncertainty about pollution controls at waste‑to‑energy facilities; others pointed to the energy-recovery benefits of EcoMaine’s process and suggested a hybrid approach (e.g., pairing Waste Management hauling with Mr. Fox composting) could shift comparative costs.
On the masonry bid for the high school exterior CMU work, the low responsive bid came in at $79,850 — about $19,850 above the $60,000 budgeted line. Facilities staff reported Mast Way’s exterior EIFS work would be a larger project than expected (estimated at roughly $150,000 next year), so the district plans to shift the current $50,000 Mast Way line and borrow $12,000 from Mast Way to the high-school exterior waterproofing work to balance FY27 priorities.
The board moved and seconded approval of the FY27 facility bids and recorded a 6–0 vote in favor.
What to watch: The administration will finalize contract awards and implement the composting/hauling strategy selected; procurement documentation will show whether the district selects a single vendor package or a combination of vendors to balance cost and sustainability objectives.
Facilities staff said the painting contract drew a single low bidder after two solicitations and recommended awarding the work to that sole responsive contractor. The largest procurement discussion centered on waste-disposal, recycling, and composting services. Five vendors responded (Casella, Waste Management, Win Waste, Troiano Waste, and Mr. Fox Composting). When evaluating combinations of fixed fees, per‑ton hauling and compactor trips, and the composting option, staff said Troiano plus Mr. Fox emerged as the apparent low-cost approach in aggregate. Waste Management’s bid placed material at the Turnkey landfill in Rochester, which participates in a methane capture pipeline benefiting UNH; Troiano’s material would be handled via EcoMaine’s waste-to-energy process.
Board members and staff framed the procurement as a trade-off among lowest cost, landfill minimization, local business relationships, and emissions from waste-to-energy facilities. Several board members said they value local and smaller vendors and raised uncertainty about pollution controls at waste‑to‑energy facilities; others pointed to the energy-recovery benefits of EcoMaine’s process and suggested a hybrid approach (e.g., pairing Waste Management hauling with Mr. Fox composting) could shift comparative costs.
On the masonry bid for the high school exterior CMU work, the low responsive bid came in at $79,850 — about $19,850 above the $60,000 budgeted line. Facilities staff reported Mast Way’s exterior EIFS work would be a larger project than expected (estimated at roughly $150,000 next year), so the district plans to shift the current $50,000 Mast Way line and borrow $12,000 from Mast Way to the high-school exterior waterproofing work to balance FY27 priorities.
The board moved and seconded approval of the FY27 facility bids and recorded a 6–0 vote in favor.
What to watch: The administration will finalize contract awards and implement the composting/hauling strategy selected; procurement documentation will show whether the district selects a single vendor package or a combination of vendors to balance cost and sustainability objectives.
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