MEXICO – The Region 9 board and the three superintendents who send students to the vocational school have agreed that the best way to meet future educational needs is to make changes to the existing facility.
And they are hoping a meeting with the state Department of Education next month will point them in the right direction.
Those changes could include a substantial addition that would accommodate several new programs as well as provide more space for some of the overcrowded current vocational offerings, board Chairman Norman Clanton said Tuesday.
Once the building on River Road in Mexico was found structurally sound earlier this year, the board and the architectural firm of Smith Reuter Lull of Bethel began tossing around ideas on how best to improve education for vocational students.
One idea had been to make the most pressing repairs while working toward getting on a state list to build an entirely new structure. That idea, however, has since been changed.
“It’s tough to sell the idea of putting money into the current building while working for a new building. And it could take 10 years to get a new building,” Clanton said.
Instead, he said the board and the superintendents have decided “not to go for a gold-plate job, not a patchwork job, but something well-designed that will serve our students for a couple of decades.”
Region 9 director David Driscoll said Tuesday that he believes the region is eligible for up to $3 million in no-interest loans or grants.
“We want to maximize the amount of revolving loan money we can get,” he said. “We may have to rewrite our priorities.”
He said the meeting with the state Education Department will be a chance to discuss the program and building needs of Region 9.
“We hope to learn how much we can get to do as much as possible,” Driscoll said.
Besides Driscoll, the region’s three superintendents and a representative from the architectural firm will attend that meeting.
Student surveys have shown interest in several new offerings, including an automotive program. Other possible new programs include those in the culinary arts and electrical work.
David Murphy, superintendent of SAD 44, said on Tuesday that doing the most with the current building was the best option for area students.
“We may be able to do a lot more with the existing structure. The site is suitable and capable of handling a redesign of the building,” he said.
Region 9 currently has an enrollment of about 200 in seven vocational programs. Students from SADs 44, 21 and 43 attend Region 9, along with several from the unaffiliated towns of Hanover, Gilead and Upton.
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