Someone vandalized Bath’s new high school, which is still under construction, last weekend. RSU 1  Superintendent Patrick Manuel said the vandalism can be fixed with minor paint touch-ups and should not delay construction at all. File

BATH — Bath police are looking for help finding who vandalized the new $75.3 million Morse High School building in Bath last weekend.

According to Regional School Unit 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel, “a small amount of paint was spread on a wall in the gym area and a couple of other classroom areas.”

A few auditorium chairs and panes of glass in the building, which is still under construction, were damaged as well, Manuel said.

Though disheartening, Manuel said the damage will be easily fixed with paint touch-ups and should not delay the completion of the project.

The school building, which will house Morse High School and Bath Regional Career & Technical Center, is expected to be finished this December and will welcome its first crop of students in February 2021.

During an RSU 1 Board of Directors meeting Thursday, board Chair Steve August said the damage is “estimated to be in the thousands,” but Manuel said the exact cost of the damage is still unknown.

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s not unexpected,” said August. “Often times in the course of a major project such as this, you read about folks who gain entry into the building and throw paint around and damage equipment. Hopefully this doesn’t become a pattern.”

Bath Deputy Police Chief Andrew Booth said the damage, discovered Monday, Sept. 28, is “typical of petty vandalism we see every once in a while.”

Booth said the department’s detective division is investigating a few possible leads, but he asked anyone with information about the damage to call Detective Sgt. Rick Ross at the Bath Police Department, (207) 443-5563.

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