DIXFIELD – Residents of SAD 21 are to learn next month where the district’s new school will be situated.
District Superintendent Thomas Ward said Wednesday afternoon that a public informational meeting on the matter is to be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at Dirigo High School.
Last year, Peru merged with SAD 21, which comprises Canton, Carthage and Dixfield.
As part of the consolidation move, the state set aside $10 million for a new 350-pupil elementary school, which, merger documents stated, had to be constructed on the Peru-Canton side of the Androscoggin River.
Ward said that the district’s Consolidated School Board is mulling over the purchase of one of two sites between Peru and Canton.
He said that one site has multiple owners; the other, a single owner.
“We will share information on the whole process for finding a site for the new school, and all of the sites we looked at, at the April 6 meeting,” Ward said.
Unexpected delays with appraisals of the two properties have held up the informational meeting process.
Ward said the April 6 meeting will also include a straw poll of whether community members approve of the site selected by the board. The Maine Department of Education then reviews the poll.
“Once we receive the blessing of the state board, then we can move ahead with concept design,” he said.
Last year, directors chose Portland Design Team Architects of Portland to plan, design and build the new school.
A final design could be ready by fall.
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