NEW GLOUCESTER – The SAD 15 Board of Directors this week approved sending a referendum on a $10 million bond package to Gray and New Gloucester voters Nov. 8.
The money, if approved, would pay for structural improvements to the district’s five schools and better programs for students.
Gray director Peter Pinkerton, who chairs the Facilities Upgrade and Renovations Committee, said Dunn, Memorial and Russell elementary schools, Gray-New Gloucester Middle and Gray-New Gloucester High schools would be renovated to meet health, safety and accessibility laws. Also, program needs at the high school and Dunn Elementary School, especially science labs, would be addressed.
At Gray-New Gloucester High School, the West Gym and cafeteria would be converted into a “cafetorium.”
Preliminary approval has been given by the Maine Department of Education to subsidize approximately 40 percent of the total bond through forgiving $2.2 million in debt and forgoing $1.7 million in interest.
Pinkerton said Maine’s Bureau of General Services is expected to approve the plan.
Informational meetings will be held in each community, and the plan will be presented to the Gray Town Council and New Gloucester selectmen, Pinkerton said.
In other business, Karen Caprio, director of teaching and learning, reviewed the federal report on fourth-, eighth- and 11th-graders’ progress in reading and math under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Fourth-grade students with disabilities failed to make adequate yearly progress in both subjects, the report states. Eighth-graders who are economically disadvantaged and those who are disabled failed to make progress in reading and math. And all 11th-graders failed to make progress in reading. Disabled students in 11th grade failed to make progress in mathematics.
Caprio said 90 students are eligible to receive tutorial services, but at last week’s open house only three families responded to the offer, she said. Under the law, Caprio must extend the invitation a second time with a deadline of Oct. 15. There is $754 available for each economically disadvantaged student needing tutorial help.
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