WHITEFIELD — Now that Regional School Unit 12 has a beautiful new school in Chelsea, administrators are turning their attention to other buildings.

A standing Facility Advisory Committee will review use patterns and facility needs in all of the district’s buildings and then make recommendations to the school board including “inter-RSU consolidation and possibly future construction and/or renovation project recommendations,” according to a news release.

“We want to make sure that we’re using our buildings efficiently and that we have plans in place for their upkeep and maintenance,” Superintendent Greg Potter said.

The district, known as Sheepscot Valley Regional Schools, operates Palermo School, Somerville School, Windsor School, Chelsea School, Whitefield School, Wiscasset Primary School, Wiscasset Middle School and Wiscasset High School.

It also has an alternative education building in Wiscasset, a central office in Whitefield and a combined special education office and alternative education building in Windsor.

The schools in Palermo and Whitefield date to the 1950s, Potter said, and Wiscasset Middle School was built in the 1940s. The high school houses just more than half the number of students it was built to accommodate.

“Do we need all the space that we have?” said Facilities Director John Merry, who will chair the committee. “That’s going to be a delicate question as we move forward, as we start identifying facilities.”

Right now principals are filling out surveys on the size of each classroom, the number of students to a room and which hours each space is in use.

The committee may recommend overhauling outdated heating and ventilation systems in some cases, Merry said.

Other recommendations may deal with educational quality and opportunities, such as updating science laboratory spaces or separating gyms from cafeterias so activities don’t have to be scheduled around lunch, Potter said.

The district leases rather than owns the buildings it uses for its central office in Whitefield and the alternative and special education office in Windsor.

In June, voters rejected financing for the district to buy the building in Whitefield.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@mainetoday.com