MEXICO – Next week, the Region 9 board is expected set a referendum date in the spring for a $7.3 million addition on the vocational school.
At Wednesday’s Facilities Committee meeting, members decided that more than doubling classroom and lab space and offering more programs would help put Region 9 students on par with others from many secondary regional vocational programs around the state.
Director David Driscoll said the proposed multi-million-dollar addition on the River Road school would give secondary students and the adult education program 56,000 square feet. The superintendents of the three sending districts support the concept of remaining at the site and building an addition rather than moving to another site, he said.
The Region 9 board had been considering a possible move to the former administrative building owned by NewPage Corp. in Rumford. However, after a study by the board’s architect, Jim Reuter, of the Bethel architectural firm of Smith Reuter Lull, it was determined that the Rumford building had insufficient classroom and lab space, and not enough parking space.
The $7.3 million would not include paying off the $660,000 debt remaining on the existing building. Driscoll said the school would need a total of about $8 million to cover that debt. The state has offered $1.5 million in grants and low-interest loans that would go toward the project.
He said the bond issue would likely be for $6.5 million over a 20-year period if the current debt is included in the total. Whether that would be the most efficient method has not yet been determined.
The board is expected to set a referendum for sometime in late April to align with the budget develop process in SADs 21, 43 and 44. The three member districts vote on their budgets in June. Each district’s share of the bond could be included in their budgets for school year 2006-07. The vocational school also covers the unaffiliated towns of Hanover, Gilead and Upton.
If all goes as planned, construction would start in the fall of 2006 and be completed by the end of 2007.
During the next few months, the board and administration plan to make presentations to each of the district school boards, as well as to many local organizations to try to gather support. Reuter and Driscoll plan to visit other secondary vocational schools, and Reuter will refine the addition concept following input from Region 9 staff.
And Driscoll must work with the landowner of six adjacent acres in an effort to purchase half or all of the property.
The proposed project would include both single- and two-story additions on the existing buildings. The project would mean at least two or three new programs could be offered; among those suggested are ones on early childhood, culinary arts and automobile repair.
For a couple of years, the Region 9 board has been working to determine what changes must be made to the school. Board members have said the existing facility is in need of major repairs and more vocational programs must be offered.
“This is exciting to see it start to take shape,” said board President Norman Clanton.
The full board meets at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
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