LIVERMORE FALLS – It will take about $3.5 million to upgrade the high school building to extend its use 20 more years or about $8 million to build a new one, SAD 36 Vice Chairman Fred Nadeau said Friday.
“It’s higher than we anticipated,” Nadeau said of the estimated costs to bring the building up to code and improve efficiency.
That $3.5 million is nearly half of the cost estimated to replace the building, he said, and when you get that high of a ratio you need to look at replacement versus fixing it.
The district has received an engineering study on the high school and is waiting to receive the engineering evaluation on the middle school, he said.
Nadeau said there will be discussions on the high school and on the middle school before it is decided what route the district should take.
“We need to decide if we’re going to go the smaller-projects route or push a bigger project and do everything at once,” he said.
Voters authorized school directors to apply for a state loan to help pay for $1.1 million in construction projects at the high school in November.
Those projects were for structural, roof and sidewall work and two additions.
If everything was approved, the state would pay the bulk of the cost for the projects and cover the interest on a 10-year bond, paying about 91 cents on the dollar with the district paying the remaining 9 cents.
Residents also gave concept approval to the school board in November on a performing arts center and looking into state funding for it.
Comments are no longer available on this story