A concept design by Lavallee Bresinger Architects shows a 20-classroom wing at Lewiston High School. Officials say the new wing is needed because classrooms are in substandard space in the basement. Voters would have to approve the $13.4 million project.
LEWISTON – The School Committee decided Monday to ask the City Council to approve $13.4 million for a new wing at the high school for art, music, drama and special education classes being held in the basement.
The council voted in favor of the measure Monday night, with only Mark Cayer voting against it – Cayer said he fully supports the proposed two-story wing, but would rather see it done over four years instead of two.
The wing of 20 classrooms would have an elevator and be to the right of the main entrance, which would be remade to improve security and traffic flow. The cost would be borne by local taxpayers because the state will not fund the expansion, Superintendent Bill Webster said.
As part of the discussion, School Committee member Francis Gagnon presented a slideshow which revealed a variety of problems at the school on East Avenue.
Arts and special education classes are in cramped, windowless rooms in the basement, which is also used for storage. School officials say ventilation is poor in that area, forcing special needs students to sit in classrooms that can get unbearably hot or cold, depending on the season.
One school teacher described the time it took to get a wheelchair to a student who was having a seizure in one of the basement rooms.
Others stressed the number of security issues at the 50-year-old school.
“These walls are busting at the seams,” Ward 7 committee member Tina Hutchinson said. “Our high school has gone without for long enough.”
In fact, the wing is roughly five decades overdue, Gagnon said. It was originally meant to be added when the school was constructed in the mid-1970s, but was later scrapped from the plans. Building it now, he said, will add value and make the school look like a new facility.
“If Lewiston doesn’t move forward,” Gagnon said, “I think it’s going to just hurt our tax base in the long run.”
Parent Karen McClure-Richard said the wing will add space, enhance security and extend the life of the school.
“There are so many reasons why this needs to happen,” parent Karen McClure-Richard said. “Doing this now will put us in a position to make it last another 50.”
The City Council will decide whether the project will go to voters, which could happen in November.
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