High school project vote scheduled for Sept. 15

FARMINGTON – A project nine years in the making will go before the voters of Mt. Blue Regional School District on Sept. 15, who will have the final say on whether the district will be undertaking a major renovation of the 40-year-old high school.

The $63.5 million project would completely replace 37 percent of Mt. Blue High School. Two wings of the existing building, the three-story wing in the high school and the rear wing of the Foster Regional Applied Technology Center, as well as the gymnasium, would not be torn down but instead be incorporated into the new building.

Where parts of the building were not torn down, extensive renovations would be conducted. Superitendent Michael Cormier has pointed out that the high school currently has no insulation, single-pane glass, an on-site sewage plant with an overflow discharge into the Sandy River, and wells which have been known to fail on occasion. Low pressure in the wells cancelled a day of class at the high school during the last school year.

Additionally, the building was simply not designed for the 21st century. The building cannot be secured, as there are too many entrances and exits, with students having to actually leave the building to reach some labs in the FRATC-side of the school. There are 27 portable classrooms.

Should the project be approved by voters, the school would grow to 226,000 square feet, 35.8 percent larger than the current school, with additional space being set aside for new educational programs, state-of-the-art lab spaces and a series of alternative energy options. Driveways, athletic fields, parking lots would be moved and replaced.

Beyond the bricks and mortar, the project would look at ways to change how education works at the high school. The facility would aim to blend high school classes with career technical education programs, such as those currently taught at the Foster Regional Applied Technology Center. The building committee, consisting of local educators, administrators, school board directors and residents, was interested in not only fully integrating the two, separate programs at the current site, but also involving individuals and businesses in the community.

Rather than having a “FRATC-side” and “traditional academic side,” connected by a glass corridor, the new school would consist of three “learning communities,” located in the three main wings of the facility, attached by a large, central hallway dubbed “Main Street” by the building committee. Along that hallway would be positioned the facilities shared by all three communities; the library, auditorium, gymnasium, food court, nurse and so forth.

The school would also be attached to a public water and sewer through the Route 2 corridor, a first for the facility which previously used wells and a sewer treatment field. The building committee has been working with Farmington Village Corp., the local water department, to make those 1.4 miles of connections possible. A 400,000 gallon tank would be situated to the south of the school, to provide a gravity feed system.

Many of these ideas are not new concepts, as the district has been looking to conduct a building project at Mt. Blue High School for years. After applying three times to the Department of Education, starting in 2004, the district learned in 2007 that the Mt. Blue project’s time had arrived. Out of 66 projects submitted to the DOE, Mt. Blue landed in the 17th spot, with the DOE approving the top 20 for construction.

Support from the DOE is essential; the project is estimated to cost $63.5 million to complete. Should residents approve the project on Sept. 15, more than 93 percent of the cost would be borne by the state. $3.5 million would need to be raised locally, paid back over a 20-year period. Cormier has estimated that a resident of the district owning a $100,000 piece of property would pay an additional $2.08 a month as a result of the project, should it be approved. The tax rate would decline each year until the bond is completely paid off, as it does with other projects undertaken by the district.

The local money pays for things that the state won’t. School board directors approved the list of “local only” items including three sloped roofs, which the building committee wanted in the design to break up the facility’s profile and to provide a mechanism to remove snow. Other things the state would not pay for include some non-academic related improvements such as additional parking, field irrigation and more locker room space. The committee also went beyond the state’s recommendations in some areas, increasing the size of the 450-seat auditorium by 50 seats, adding classrooms and helping pay for a presentation forum. Some of that local money will also be used to pay for solar power systems, a geothermal heating and cooling system and possibly a small wind turbine

These alternative energy systems, in addition to reducing energy costs by supplementing a wood chip boiler, are designed to be the center piece of an alternative energy program being started at the high school. In addition, the state has agreed to provide funding for space to house two new programs; pre-engineering and an electrical/plumbing addition to the building trades program.

Another new concept is the addition of an “incubator lab.” This 2,200 square foot space would be used by small local business owners trying to get new ideas off the ground. While at the school, the business could benefit from the energy and enthusiasm of students, while the students could benefit from a “hands-on” educational experience.

Should the project not be approved on Sept. 15, there is no second chance. The state will take the bonded funds that would have gone toward Mt. Blue and will look at other school projects that just missed the cut.

Should it be approved on Sept. 15, the existing building would be improved and demolished in stages, to allow classes to continue to be held at the facility. The project has an estimated completion date of 2013.

Polls open and close at different times throughout the district. The vote is on Sept. 15.

Chesterville: Town Office, 409 Dutch Gap Road
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Farmington: Community Center, 127 Middle Street
12:00 noon – 5:00 pm

Industry: Town Hall, 1033 Industry Road
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

New Sharon: Town Office, 11 School Lane
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

New Vineyard: Smith Hall, Route 27
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Temple: Town Hall, 258 Temple Road
3:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Vienna: Fire Station, Kimball Pond Road
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Weld: Multi-purpose Room, 23 Mill Street
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Wilton: Town Office (lower level), 158 Weld Road
12:00 noon – 5:00 pm