AUGUSTA — The Montello School in Lewiston has been awarded $900,000 in loans from the state’s School Revolving Renovation Fund, which was created by the Legislature and the governor to ensure that Maine public school students have a safe and healthy learning environment.

“I am pleased to hear that the Montello students will be able to access funds to help improve our classrooms,” said state Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, who sponsored the legislation that expanded the flexibility of the school renovation fund to provide schools greater access to the loans.  She worked with the Lewiston school superintendent to help bring the legislation forward when she was in the Senate. “While school budgets are increasingly tight, expanding the flexibility of the fund to help more schools across the state improve their facilities made good financial sense for taxpayers.”

The Montello School was awarded the loan to replace ventilators.

The school renovation fund is a state and local partnership with each providing a portion of a project’s funding.  The fund provides loans to local school administration units to finance project expenditures. A portion of each loan is considered a grant and is forgiven.  The forgiveness rate ranges from 30 to 70 percent and is based on the percentage of state subsidy paid to the local school unit.

The remaining balance of the loan is paid back over either five or 10 years at no interest. The loan repayments got back into the fund and are then used to support other approved projects.

Rotundo represents Lewiston in the House of Representatives. She serves on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. Prior to serving in the House, she served in the state Senate for eight years, where she was Senate chairman of the Appropriations Committee and appointed to the Education Committee. Rotundo also chaired the Lewiston School Board for four years.